Deal Marks Company’s First International Expansion
LAS VEGAS – May 23, 2023 -- Attorneys at global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP advised Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated in its first expansion outside of the United States with the acquisition of four, beachfront properties in Mexico from Royal Resorts.
The acquisition – which also includes most of Royal Resorts’ related companies and its corporate operations – collectively adds more than 850 villas to Holiday Inn Club Vacations’ growing portfolio of destination resorts. The acquired properties are the 17-acre Royal Sands® in Cancun, the 7-plus-acre Royal Cancun® on Cancun’s north shore, the 23-plus-acre Royal Haciendas® in the Riviera Maya, and the 13-plus-acre Grand Residences by Royal Resorts® in Puerto Morelos.
“This transaction marks a significant growth milestone for Holiday Inn Club Vacations, and highlights Greenberg Traurig’s continued success advising market-leading companies in cross-border real estate matters. Because of the firm’s deep global platform and collaborative culture, we were able to assemble a highly skilled team of more than 20 attorneys who worked together across multiple practices and offices to deliver for our client,” said Real Estate Practice Shareholder and Las Vegas office Co-Managing Shareholder Jim Mace, who led the Greenberg Traurig deal team. “We look forward to continuing to work with Holiday Inn Club Vacations to help ensure their future growth and success.”
In addition to Mace, Greenberg Traurig’s deal team included Corporate Practice Shareholders Mike Shalmy and Pete J. Georgis in Las Vegas, Luis Cortes Panameno in Mexico City, and Chad D. Striker in Chicago; Denver White - Collar Defense & Investigations Shareholder Cuneyt A. Akay; Real Estate Shareholders Richard F. Davis in Los Angeles and Jose Antonio Diez de Bonilla Martinez in Mexico City; Technology, Media & Telecommunications Shareholder Edgar Olvera Jimenez in Mexico City; New YorkTax Shareholder Pallav Raghuvanshi; Denver Litigation Shareholder Tyler D. Coombe; Las Vegas Intellectual Property & Technology Shareholder Ed Chansky; Mexico City Antitrust Litigation & Competition Regulation Shareholder Miguel Flores Bernes; Mexico City Energy & Natural Resources Shareholder Erick Hernández Gallego; Mexico City Labor & Employment Of Counsel Marite Villanueva; and OrlandoHospitality Of Counsel Brian T. Lower.
Other core members of the team included Mexico City Associates Diego Gonzalez Villamil, Julio Antonio Sardina Pla, Maribel Tovar Frias, Rocio Olea Salgado, Edgar Fernandez Orozco Ceballos, and Luis Jorge Akle Arronte, as well as New York Tax Associate Mirae Park. Mexico City Law Clerks Fernando Alamilla Torres and Rodrigo Silva-Herzog and Las Vegas Paralegal Jennifer Rohrbach also were on the team.
Founded in 1982 in Orlando, Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated is a leader in the vacation-ownership industry, and a partner of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The company’s mission is to be the most loved brand in family travel by delivering easy-to-plan, memorable vacation experiences that strengthen families, according to its website.
About Greenberg Traurig's Real Estate Practice: The Greenberg Traurig Real Estate Practice is a cornerstone of the firm and recognized leader in the industry. The firm’s real estate attorneys deliver diversified and comprehensive counsel for property acquisition and investment, development, management and leasing, financing, restructuring, and disposition of all asset classes of real estate. The team draws upon the knowledge and experience of more than 700 real estate lawyers from around the world, serving clients from key markets in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The group’s clientele includes a broad range of property developers, lenders, investment managers, private equity funds, REITs, and private owners. The firm’s real estate team advises clients on a variety of matters across a broad spectrum of commercial, recreational, and residential real estate, including structured equity and debt and the hybrids.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2650 attorneys in 45 locations in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The firm is a 2022 BTI “Highly Recommended Law Firm” for superior client service and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100 and NLJ 250. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab and is recognized for powering its U.S. offices with 100% renewable energy as certified by the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e® Energy as a member of the U.S. EPA’s Green Partnership Program. The firm is known for its philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: www.gtlaw.com.
About Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated: Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated is a resort, real estate, and travel company with a mission to be the most loved brand in family travel by delivering easy-to-plan, memorable vacation experiences that strengthen families.
Based in Orlando, Fla., the company has been a leader in the vacation ownership industry since 1982, when Holiday Inn® founder Kemmons Wilson debuted the company’s flagship property, Holiday Inn Club Vacations® at Orange Lake Resort next to Orlando’s Walt Disney World® Resort.
Today, the Holiday Inn Club Vacations resort portfolio spans across the United States, and into the Mexican Caribbean, with the expansion into the international space in May 2023. Throughout its history, the company has maintained the core family values true to its founding Wilson family, while aggressively pursuing growth, transforming its member engagement model and building an industry-leading team passionate about the guest experience.