Apple Leisure Group

Apple Vacations was founded in 1969 by John Mullen and his brother-in-law, Al Atkinson, as Atkinson & Mullen Travel. Mullen later became the sole proprietor and renamed the company Apple Vacations.

In 2001, future ALG CEO Alejandro Zozaya, son-in-law of John Mullen, founded resort sales, marketing, and brand management company AMResorts. Over a decade later, he spearheaded the effort to form ALG by making tour operator Apple Vacations a sister company of AMResorts. ALG received an influx of equity in late 2012 when it sold an undisclosed stake in its business to Boston-based global private equity firm Bain Capital. In 2013, Apple Leisure Group expanded with the acquisition of B2B tour operator Travel Impressions from American Express, of online leisure wholesaler CheapCaribbean.com, of destination management company Amstar DMC, and of AMResorts’ guest loyalty program, Unlimited Vacation Club.

In early 2017 Bain Capital sold its interest in Apple Leisure Group to private equity companies KSL Capital Partners and KKR for an undisclosed price.[4] In May 2018 Apple Leisure Group merged with The Mark Travel Corporation and its associated brands Funjet Vacations and Trisept Solutions under the Apple Leisure Group name.[5]

In November of 2018, Apple Leisure Group announced an expansion into Europe alongside Groupo Inversor Hesperia (GIHSA), taking over operations of four of GIHSA’s resorts in Spain. The following month Apple Leisure Group signed an agreement to purchase a majority share in Alua Hotels and Resorts, adding a further 12 resorts across Spain to its European portfolio. Citing increased growth in the European market, in March of 2019 Apple Leisure Group named Javier Aguilla the President of the Europe Division. Aguilla had previous worked as the Founder and COO of Alua.

In 2019, ALG expanded further, adding 9,000 rooms to their portfolio over 23 different properties. This included a five-star adults-only resort, Secrets Mallorca, in the coastal town of Paguera, bringing over 100 jobs to the region. One more Secrets location is expected on the Caribbean island of St. Martin in 2020, along with a Dreams location in Punta Cana.

Also in 2019, ALG named Alejandro Reynal as its CEO. Reynal succeeded the position from Alejandro Zozaya, who remains the leader of ALG’s board of directors. Reynal previously served as the CEO of customer relationship management conglomerate Atento.

In August 2021, Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced that it is buying Apple Leisure Group for $2.7 billion in cash.[6] The acquisition was completed on November 2, 2021.[7]

The subsidiaries of ALG operate under the Apple Leisure Group Vacations umbrella. Apple Leisure Group Vacations (ALGV) is a collection of vacations brands including Apple Vacations, Travel Impressions, Cheap Caribbean, Funjet Vacations, Southwest Vacations, Blue Sky Tours, BeachBound, and United Vacations.