Zoe Lara, AMResorts’International Sales and Distribution Director

During one of the sessions of DATE 2015, Caribbean News Digital interviewed Zoe Lara, AMResorts’International Sales and Distribution Director. This chain, managed by the Apple Leisure Group (ALG), features seven hotels in the Dominican Republic and it has already announced the opening of two additional properties, one in La Romana and the other one in Cap Cana. Further information on the company and its brands, destinations, executives, and more is available on www.amresorts.com.

Mrs. Lara has vast experience in the travel industry as she worked for Meliá Hotels International, where she occupied different executive positions at corporate level, America, for over a decade. Afterwards, this specialist was the Sales Vice president of Be Live Hotels for America. During our conversation, Mrs. Lara commented on AMResorts’ plans in the Dominican Republic and admitted ALG’s interest in Cuba.

From the international approach of AMResorts to the Dominican Republic, what agreements have you signed to manage new hotels?

In terms of management, we have a development plan in which the enhancement process is about to achieve 4-6 hotels a year. We’re following this line in 2015 and in 2016 we’ll be working on what we have announced, and we’re about to announce nearly five new hotels.

Furthermore, we have a development plan, not only related to hotels, but destinations and the support to beach destinations, always holding the Caribbean as a priority. According to our Development Division, we might target other American destinations, always looking for the beach leadership as added value.

In which Caribbean countries are you presently operating your hotels?

We’re in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Curacao, Saint Thomas where we have a hotel under the Dreams brand, and we’ll have a new opening in Aruba, with a Zoetry Río Di Oro, in 2016. I think it’s important for people to know that we’re betting on that high-class brand in Aruba, where that kind of product doesn’t have a strong presence in the market. We have hotels in Costa Rica and we have announced a brand-new hotel in Panama, but it hasn’t been inaugurated. We’ll soon have a second hotel there. We manage two hotels in Jamaica and we’ll have a third one under Sunscape brand.

What’s the base hotel we’re going to use in Aruba so as to develop this new activity?

It’s a new-build hotel. We’ve seen the renderings; it’s going to be built on piles, above the sea, a totally atypical construction in Aruba, under Zoetry Río Di Oro brand.

Which are your flagship hotels in the Dominican Republic, the ones with the highest occupancy and profitability levels?

Actually, all of our brands in the Dominican Republic are very successful. We’re proud of it and we’re happy to say that our first quarter of the year has been very fruitful. We’re always extolled in meetings because there is no definition in terms of one hotel doing better or worse than the rest, it only depends on their segmentation, budget and market. Each of these hotels has gone way beyond its budget and plan, not only in terms of revenue, but average rate.

That’s a fact that flatters and surpasses the owners’ expectations in each of these hotels. It speaks high of us and we’ll keep on betting on the Dominican Republic, by announcing the opening of new hotels on the island.

What would be the number of hotel rooms in the near future? Where are you going to have those new hotels?

We know the number of rooms we presently offer to our customs. However, we proudly say that, with the great strides we’re making, within a few days this figure would be obsolete. We’ll be making announcements. It’s going to be in Punta Cana. We also have Cap Cana, which will initially open with a number of rooms, but it could change.

Do you have any project in Puerto Plata?

Every tourism circuit in the Dominican Republic with added values is interesting to AMResorts, including Puerto Plata.

Do you think that Cuba can be a market for a future expansion of AMResorts?

We could say so. AMResorts is definitively interested in Cuba. Certain internal talks have been held and, if there is a chance, we’re interested. That will depend on the way US laws let us enter the country, not only as AMResorts, but as ALG, with its different distribution channels, such as Apple Vacations, Travel Impression, cheapcaribbean.com, and other companies that have joined the chain. We’re interested in entering Cuba not only as AMResorts and its hotels in management plan, investment or whatever we’re allowed to do, but as a vertical group.