PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic — In the ballroom of the Sanctuary Cap Cana here, about 100 agents from the U.S. and Canada listened as Alexander Stadlin, COO of Playa Hotels and Resorts, updated his audience on some of the company's upcoming projects.
Stadlin clicked through his PowerPoint presentation, which showed renderings of the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara Cap Cana, Playa's 750-room, all-inclusive resort complex under construction just up the road.
Kevin Froemming, Playa's executive vice president and chief marketing officer, chimed in: "Feel free to ooh and aah at any of this."
Attendees enthusiastically obliged as Stadlin clicked through images: a 35,000-square-foot fitness facility with a cool, retro vibe akin to an old-school boxing gym; airy, oceanview guestrooms with subdued, earthy palettes; and an Indian restaurant that will offer seating inside a vintage railcar shipped from upstate New York.
"We're going to build the Orient Express," Stadlin proclaimed.
The presentation was part of Playa's third annual Spotlight Awards event, held from Jan. 10 to 13. For Playa, it was an opportunity to celebrate with its top producers and share updates on the company's portfolio, which comprises 21 all-inclusive resorts in Mexico, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.
Attendees took a hard-hat tour of the Ziva and Zilara site and also traveled about 45 minutes west to the former Dreams La Romana, rebranded in November as the Hilton La Romana under Playa's recently expanded partnership with Hilton.
Rendering of a double guestroom at the Hilton La Romana, which is undergoing renovation.
Renovations to the 750-room property began this week. The adults-only section will be closed through the end of May for upgrades, followed by the family section, which will reopen in November.
Spotlight attendees expressed excitement about both the Hyatt and Hilton projects.
Sue Schmerling of A Time to Travel in Delray Beach, Fla., said the Hilton gives agents another option to present to clients interested in the Dominican Republic.
"We sell Cap Cana, we sell Punta Cana, but we don't usually [sell] La Romana," she said. "But with this Hilton there, absolutely."
Deanna Pederson of LaMacchia Travel in Kenosha, Wis., said, "The Hilton is amazing already, and they're going to remodel it, so I'm impressed by that."
Pederson added that the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara, with their adult and family sections, "is the kind of property everyone is looking for" when it comes to destination weddings.
At the Spotlight event, Playa also announced the rollout of its agent booking engine at PlayaResorts.com.
Agents who book via the Playa engine will receive commissions within seven days, will have access to Hyatt and Hilton rates for loyalty program members and will earn full commission on those bookings.
Clients will earn full points on bookings at Playa's Hyatt properties. Within the next month, Hilton loyalty program members will also earn full points on bookings, according to Playa. The booking engine will feature a calendar displaying pricing, availability and restrictions in real time.
The new booking engine is "built for travel agents, by travel agents," Froemming told Spotlight attendees at an informational session.
Froemming said several other booking engine features would be rolled out in the coming weeks, including cancel for any reason and traditional cancellation insurance, prebooking of spa services and resort maps showing room location.