It is next Saturday that Club Med Punta Cana will reopen its doors after the fire which ravaged, on September 12, the central part of one of the most emblematic villages of the trident brand. Although the 613 rooms were spared, the common areas of the complex were severely affected by the flames during this disaster which left one person injured during the evacuation of customers and staff.
The first were transferred a little further north, to Club Med Michès Playa Esmeralda, the group’s second resort in the Dominican Republic, inaugurated in 2020. And sales closed until the known reopening date. Injured customers this fall and during the All Saints school holidays were reprotected free of charge at the Playa Esmeralda Resort, classified Exclusive Collection, or when this was not possible due to lack of availability in the Club’s villages located in the Antilles, in Cancun in Mexico even to Mauritius for some files.
“The Club Med experience will live up to what we promise to customers”
Changes and work have been carried out as part of the reopening of the village of Punta Cana. “The reception has been relocated without causing a long journey for the customer because the club also has a reception at Tiara [de l’espace Exclusif] and at the Zen Oasis [la partie réservée aux adultes] », explains a Club Med manager. “Two restaurants are open with the Hispaniola and the Indigo offering quality and an offer identical to the Samara, as well as a fluidity of welcome”.
A priority in a club which can accommodate up to 1,750 vacationers. “Beach Bar Indigo has been redesigned to become the main bar”. The rest of the resort is operating normally, including the spa, land and water sports, palapa yoga classes and fitness room, circus activities and swimming pools, etc. “The Club Med experience will live up to what we promise to customers,” assures the group which for the moment has not yet decided on the reconstruction work on the destroyed part of the village.
A drop in the number of French customers
With its significant capacities (they doubled during the renovation of the village from 2008), the reopening as quickly as possible of Club Med Punta Cana, the group’s historic village since the 1960s, was imperative. However, the French clientele is less present there since Air France’s decision to no longer serve Punta Cana airport from Paris in 2023. In fact, only the Air Caraibes company now serves the destination via direct flights. A 38% drop in individual French customers was observed in 2023 compared to 2022 for the two villages. “Sales for 2024 were ISO versus 2023 but were impacted by the fire at the resort,” recognizes the group.
The latter, however, underlines that “the occupancy rates have remained at levels equivalent to those before the reduction in air service”, i.e. 80% for the village of Punta Cana and 71% for the Michès Playa Esmeralda in 2023, offset by the good performance of the North American markets which represented 40% of the customer base in 2022, 57% in 2023 and 54%, to date, in 2024.
