Karisma Hotels & Resorts’ Palafitos – Overwater Bungalows room category at El Dorado Maroma has been a popular sell for travel advisors ever since it debuted in Mexico in 2016.
In 2022, agents can expect twice as many to sell.
As part of our coverage of Karisma Hotels & Resorts’ 12th annual Gourmet Inclusive Vacation Consultant (GIVC) awards at El Dorado Royale, TravelPulse found out more about this story and more.
Here’s what we learned.
Palafitos Inventory Doubling
Dolores Lopez Lira, co-owner of Lomas Travel and Karisma Hotels & Resorts’ El Dorado Spa Resorts and Generations Resorts brands, told TravelPulse that Karisma will be doubling its Palafitos – Overwater Bungalows inventory from 30 to 60 rooms at El Dorado Maroma.
Groundbreaking will take place in 2021 and the rooms will officially open by as early as 2022, she said.
Margaritaville’s Future
Mandy Chomat, chief sales and marketing officer at Karisma Hotels & Resorts, said there could be six Margaritaville Island Reserve by Karisma hotels open in the Caribbean and Mexico by 2021. He said a seventh will open after that, but would not give further details on when and where.
There are currently three Margaritaville Island Reserve by Karisma hotels that are in the planning stages. There are two hotels planned for the Riviera Maya, while groundbreaking recently began for a Margaritaville Island Reserve by Karisma in the Cap Cana resort area in the Dominican Republic. Margaritaville Island Reserve by Karisma Cap Cana will open in 2021, Chomat said.
The fourth and fifth Margaritaville Island Reserve by Karisma projects will most likely be in Jamaica. Chomat said one will be located at the Sugar Cane resort development in Ocho Rios and another will be in Negril.
Although we were given no timeline for either project, Rafael Feliz, chairman and CEO of Karisma Hotels & Resorts, did tell TravelPulse groundbreaking on the Sugar Cane development will commence next year.
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“[Karisma is] betting really hard on the Margaritaville brand and I think it will pay off,” said Anthony Tucker, vice president and general manager at the All-Inclusive Outlet in Georgetown, Kentucky. “What they are doing with the new concept of luxury without the pretense will be very successful with the multigenerational market.”
Nickelodeon’s First Latin American Property
Feliz told TravelPulse the Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts brand’s Latin America debut could be either Brazil or Colombia. In Colombia, Feliz told TravelPulse to expect a Nickelodeon near Cartagena. He said the Brazil location will be near Rio de Janeiro.
The GIVC Awards
The recently concluded event saw some of the industry’s top producers gather at El Dorado Royale in the Riviera Maya for education, networking and honors.
Here’s what a couple of agents in attendance had to say about this year’s show.
“The event really helps my Karisma sales because it gives us the opportunity to experience new and existing hotels first hand,” said Tom Brussow, president at Romance Travel Designers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
For Tucker, it’s networking with Karisma’s top executives that makes the event so valuable.
“For me specifically, the most important part of this show is getting face time with the people behind the scenes at Karisma,” said Tucker. “Having face time is so important because when you have an issue back at home, you have a connection to help you fix it.”
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