Karisma Continues Meteoric Expansion

Karisma Hotels & Resorts said it expects to double its product inventory within the next five years.

“You are the force behind our wheel,” Daniel Scheiman, Karisma’s senior business development manager for North America, told travel agents during the company’s annual Gourmet Inclusive Vacation Consultants (GIVC) conference at El Dorado Royale in Mexico’s Riviera Maya.

“Our way of saying thank you is to keep opening hotels.”

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The company provided some of the particulars of its expansion plans, including details of the first all-inclusive Margaritaville in the Caribbean and Mexico. The company, which entered into a partnership with Margaritaville earlier this year, said the resort featuring 355 suites will debut in 2019 adjacent to Azul Beach Resort Sensatori in Riviera Maya.

Three resorts in the Dominican Republic’s Cap Cana—an El Dorado Royale, El Dorado Casitas and Azul Sensimar—are set to open in fall 2019.

“This is the first time the El Dorado brand will go beyond Mexico,” noted Scheiman.

The company will also unveil its second Nickelodeon property in Riviera Maya adjacent to its Generations resort in 2019. It will feature 272 swim-up and infinity-pool suites, all of which can be interconnected. Karisma opened its first Nickelodeon resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, in 2016.

A third Nickelodeon is planned for Huatulco, Mexico, along with El Dorado and Generations resorts. Groundbreaking is slated for 2019, with openings set for 2020.

In June 2017, Karisma debuted a stand-alone premium section to the Azul Beach Resort Sensatori Jamaica on Negril’s Seven Mile Beach, bringing the property’s suite count to 285. In all, the resort now features 10 restaurants, nine bars and lounges, as well as a 9,400-square-foot spa.

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In 2016, Karisma became the first company to unveil overwater bungalows, or palafitos, in the Caribbean and Mexico when it unveiled 30 such accommodations at El Dorado Maroma in Riviera Maya. The palafitos feature glass-bottom floors, private infinity pools, indoor Jacuzzis and large decks with lounge chairs.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Karisma’s GIVC conference.

“While anyone can become a travel agent, not everyone can be certified as a GIVC agent,” said Karisma Executive Vice President Mandy Chomat, noting that the company initially “got pushback” on the fact that agents had to pay to join the program. “Payment was a token – it served as a statement that agents and Karisma would be loyal to each other.”

While Karisma pays all travel consultants a generous 19 percent commission, GIVC agents earn 21 percent pay. In addition to higher commissions, GIVC agents are privy to exclusive offers for their clients, as well as sales and marketing tool that are not available to other travel consultants.