He is the main investor in the Hilton Inn Dominican Republic Hotel, which opened Saturday in La Romana at a cost of $25 million.
With the same determination as during his 2005 debut with the Major League Cincinnati Reds, Edwin Encarnación has just ventured into the world of tourism as a hotel entrepreneur, confident that success will smile on him in this area too.
The gentlemanly former baseball player is the majority investor of the first Hilton Inn hotel in the Dominican Republic, built in his hometown of La Romana, on Caleta Beach, at a cost of 25 million dollars in just over two years.
He revealed that he owns 68 percent of the shares of the complex inaugurated last Saturday, about 17 million dollars. The complex is to be entirely managed by the prestigious international chain.
“That gives me a lot of confidence, a lot of peace of mind that everything is going to work out in the best way,” said Encarnación, who earned a nominal total of US$ 123,790 over 16 seasons in the Majors with Cincinnati, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox.
“Americans do things by the book and I am really happy to be a partner of Hilton, a global brand that doesn’t lend its name lightly,” he said when interviewed via zoom by Héctor J. Cruz for LISTÍN DIARIO’s Sports Update.
He is also assisted by a local group he did not identify, but did highlight its credentials, and noted that both he and his wife, communicator Karen Yapoort, have been involved in the business to learn the ropes as quickly as possible.
The luxurious seven-story hotel has 130 rooms, most with views of the sea and Catalina Island, as well as a swimming pool, three event rooms, the main one called Mireya in honor of his mother, outdoor areas, suitable for all kinds of celebrations such as social and corporate events, as well as two bars and a restaurant.
“Seeing this dream come true, and something that carries my mother’s name fills me with many emotions,” said Encarnación, who in his career had a .260 batting average, with 424 home runs and 261 RBIs.
He said that the Hilton Inn is aimed at both a national and foreign audience and that it was not designed to compete with Casa de Campo, the emblematic tourist complex based in La Romana city.
“We are not here to compete with Casa de Campo. We are increasing the options to visit La Romana, which is a tourist city, “he clarified.
He emphasized that one of the services offered by the hotel is the transfer of guests to Catalina Island, which he defined as “the most beautiful in our country and that more than 80 percent of Dominicans have never seen.”
He said that the group of investors does not include his baseball colleagues but left open the possibility for them to acquire shares, even his own, as long as they do not exceed 17 percent since he intends to keep over 50 percent.
The event, headed by President Luis Abinader and the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, was attended by former big leaguers Pedro Martínez, Robinson Canó and Melkis Cabrera.
Other guests, such as his former partner in the Toronto team, José Bautista, could not attend the ceremony because he was on vacation with his family in Georgia, USA, but followed the event and afterwards called him to congratulate him.
With hotels on five continents, The Hilton Inn motto is “We are a company at the service of people, and we have a team of members who share their passion for hospitality every day, even outside our facilities”.
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