After the merger announcement with Mark Travel, Apple Leisure Partners is making more moves to expand its global business. The company announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with NH Hotel Group to operate beachfront resorts in Spain. 

Both Apple Leisure Group and NH Hotel Group are in periods of transition.

While Apple manages its merger with Mark Travel, NH Hotel Group is dealing with HNA Group, which has initiated the process to sell off its 29.3 percent stake in the company.

The alliance will bring Apple’s Secrets Resorts & Spas and Dream Resorts & Spas brands to Europe, as well as introduce a new brand: Amigo Hotels & Resorts.

“Travelers visiting Spain’s premier beach and leisure destinations are seeking the perfect combination of service, amenities and a cost-conscious price point – this is the sweet spot of the Amigo brand,” said Gonzalo del Peon, AMResorts president.

The first four hotels under the partnership are scheduled to open in 2019 in Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, and Mallorca, all conversions of existing properties. For AMResorts, expanding in Spain where there is strong demand and presence for beachfront resorts, is strategically important

“Spain is the gateway to the leisure segment in the Mediterranean Europe,” said Javier Coll, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Apple Leisure Group. “As the second most visited country in the world in 2017, the time was right to expand our footprint across the Atlantic Ocean and into Europe, beginning in Spain. Through this partnership, NH Hotel Group is helping us enter the most competitive and popular destinations in this country, as well as in the rest of the Mediterranean markets.”

"This alliance is the result of a long-standing relationship between both companies. The result is an attractive hotel partnership model, which has already proven successful in the Caribbean, and we will leverage each company’s strengths," said Ramon Aragonés, CEO of NH Hotel Group.

AMResorts is a subsidiary of Apple Leisure Group and has a current portfolio of six brands with a pipeline of 52 open resorts and an additional 20 planned in those regions.