Buying a Hotel in the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic (DR) is the Caribbean’s largest and most tourism-intensive lodging market. In 2024, the country welcomed a record ~11.2 million visitors, including ~8.5 million stopover (air) tourists and ~2.7 million cruise passengers, and 2025 has continued at record pace with 8+ million visitors already by August. Tourism is a cornerstone of the economy: WTTC estimates travel and tourism contribute about $21 billion and ~15% of GDP in 2025, underscoring DR’s global visibility and continued runway for accommodation investment.  

‍

Market Trends and Locations

DR’s hotel market is anchored by a few powerful destination clusters with very different buyer profiles. The East (Punta Cana/Bávaro–Cap Cana, La Altagracia) is the flagship leisure engine dominated by large all-inclusive resorts; the Southeast (La Romana/Bayahibe) adds another high-value resort corridor; the North Coast (Puerto Plata, Cabarete, Sosúa — “Silver Coast”) supports a mix of beach, surf, and mid-scale resort stock; the Samaná Peninsula (Las Terrenas, Samaná town) is an eco-boutique growth story; and Santo Domingo remains the main urban/business gateway with year-round demand. Investor interest is spreading to secondary and nature-driven areas (Jarabacoa/Constanza, Barahona/Pedernales) as DR pushes sustainability, wellness, and experience travel beyond mass beach tourism.  

‍

Occupancy and Hotel Supply

The formal hotel sector is large and still expanding. Industry estimates put DR at roughly 90,055 hotel rooms as of late 2024, the biggest share of supply in the Caribbean. Occupancy in core resort zones typically runs high in season, while performance varies more in city and secondary markets — which creates opportunity for buyers who can reposition assets, improve distribution, or lean into niches like boutique, long-stay, and eco-lodging.  

‍

Transactions and Investments

Hotel dealflow is dominated by resort platforms, all-inclusive operators, and mixed-use condo-hotel models, with international brands increasingly active through management/franchise structures. Recent regional transactions (including DR assets inside larger Caribbean all-inclusive portfolios) show sustained institutional appetite for beachfront scale and for upgrading older properties into higher-yield formats. For smaller buyers, the most liquid sub-markets tend to be Punta Cana/Bávaro, Santo Domingo, Puerto Plata/Cabarete, Las Terrenas/Samaná, and Bayahibe/La Romana, where both tourism demand and broker ecosystems are deepest.

‍

Tourism and Visitor Statistics

Inbound travel is led by North America and Europe, especially the United States and Canada, with strong repeat visitation and expanding airlift. DR benefits from being a short-haul beach destination for the Americas while also attracting longer-stay European leisure demand, giving it one of the most resilient demand bases in the region.  

‍

In Summary

The Dominican Republic stands out as a high-volume, high-visibility hotel investment market in the Caribbean. It combines record visitor growth, the region’s largest room base, and a set of clearly defined destination clusters that support everything from mega all-inclusive assets to boutique eco-lodges. Buyers benefit from a mature tourism ecosystem and a pro-investment posture, while success still hinges on picking the right sub-market, understanding seasonality by coast, and aligning the asset type with DR’s dominant leisure demand.