by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 2:30 PM ET, Thu September 24, 2026
On the heels of the announcement that Sandals Resorts International has entered into a mega partnership with Royal Caribbean, the resort company’s Executive Chairman, Adam Stewart, is hinting at potential expansion plans for the company.
Stewart said in an interview with Gary Sadler, the executive vice president of global sales for Unique Vacations, that Sandals is poised to grow beyond its current geographic footprint.
“The time has come for us to go further than the four corners of the Caribbean,” said Stewart in the interview, which was later shared on Facebook.
Stewart went on to outline a three-part plan that includes spending millions to renovate the current Sandals portfolio while also adding new properties to the fold.
Sandals Resorts currently has 20 properties in its portfolio, and Stewart said every one of those resorts is being upgraded or is about to be.
“Time waits for no-one and you have to keep moving. And some of that renovation is transformational. I mean hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars,” said Stewart.
Turning his attention to “Step 2” in the resort company’s development plans, Stewart offered only limited clues as to what may be on the horizon.
“Step 2 is all the exciting things we’re going to tell you. That we haven’t yet told you,” said Stewart playfully. “We don’t want to tell you too much at once…There are new hotels and some of them are going to come quickly. And some of them in new destinations. And some of them may be on our doorstep.”
Step 3, added Stewart, speaking directly to Sadler, “is where do you want us to build resorts? You have asked me about destinations and I’m not going to say them. But you know them.”
The exchange between Stewart and Sadler comes just 24 hours after a news blitz surrounding the historic deal between Royal Caribbean and Sandals.
The two mega travel brands announced this week that they’ve entered into a definitive agreement to form a joint venture, marking one of the most significant cross-category deals in modern travel industry history.
Under the terms of the deal announced Wednesday, Royal Caribbean Group will acquire a 50% equity stake in Sandals Resorts International, including both the adult-focused Sandals Resorts and family-centric Beaches Resorts portfolios, for approximately $3 billion, representing a forward EBITDA multiple of approximately 10x.
“For nearly 60 years, we've reimagined what a vacation can be, constantly expanding the ways we inspire our guests to explore, connect and create lifelong memories,” Jason Liberty, Chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group, said of the deal.
“We have been building a vacation platform that brings joy to millions of people around the world and creates meaningful relationships that last with our guests. Our partnership with Sandals and Beaches Resorts is an important next step on that journey - bringing together two iconic leading vacation companies to further strengthen and grow one of the most admired resort portfolios in the world,” Liberty added.
The deal directly expands Royal Caribbean Group into the adjacent $2 trillion global land-based resort market and is expected to close in early 2027.
Plans call for Liberty and Stewart to manage the new joint venture. At the same time, Stewart will maintain a leadership role in guiding the company’s long-term strategic growth as Executive Chairman of Sandals and Beaches Resorts.
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