Our Habitas Tulum Closes Abruptly, Leaving Workers Seeking Answers

Tulum, Quintana Roo — Our Habitas Tulum, the beachfront property where the international hospitality brand got its start a decade ago, has abruptly ceased operations, leaving more than 40 workers without jobs and raising questions about the future of the Our Habitas brand in Quintana Roo.

Employees say they arrived for work in late September expecting a normal shift and were instead informed that the hotel had stopped operating. According to several accounts given to local media, workers were told there were no funds available to cover their outstanding pay and were subsequently asked to leave the property.

Some of the employees had worked at the hotel for eight, nine and even more than 10 years. Staff affected by the closure reportedly include employees in housekeeping, kitchens, gardening, wellness and programming, among other departments.

One employee involved in organizing the workers said approximately 30 to 35 people initially gathered following the closure, although she estimated that more than 40 employees were affected overall.

Workers say their final biweekly pay remained outstanding and that they had received neither severance nor formal documentation terminating their employment. A group has since approached labor authorities seeking payment and clarification over which corporate entity is responsible for the outstanding obligations.

The precise circumstances surrounding the closure remain unclear. Employees have said legal personnel took control of the property and some accounts refer to a possible eviction order. No documentation establishing the nature of that action has surfaced publicly, however, and there has been no public statement from Our Habitas explaining why the hotel closed.

That leaves unanswered questions surrounding one of the better-known names in Tulum’s boutique hotel sector.

The hotel where Habitas began

The closure is particularly significant because Tulum wasn’t simply another location in the Our Habitas portfolio. It was where the brand began.

Our Habitas traces its origins to Tulum in 2016, developing a hospitality concept centered on relatively small properties, nature, wellness, music and communal experiences rather than the traditional large-resort model. The concept subsequently expanded to destinations including Bacalar, San Miguel de Allende, Chile, Morocco, Namibia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

In June 2024, Our Habitas entered into a strategic partnership with Ennismore, the lifestyle hospitality company backed by global hotel group Accor. Under the agreement, Ennismore took responsibility for management and growth of the brand while Our Habitas joined its collection of hotel brands.

At the time, Ennismore specifically identified Tulum as one of Our Habitas’ 10 operating resorts and said the partnership would provide the company with the resources and international reach needed for further expansion.

As recently as June 30, 2026, Accor continued to list Our Habitas among Ennismore’s 13 lifestyle hotel brands. Accor’s March 2026 brand portfolio reported more than 10 Our Habitas hotels totaling more than 560 rooms, with another four properties under development.

The Tulum closure therefore does not appear to represent the disappearance of the Our Habitas brand itself. Ennismore continues to promote Our Habitas internationally and has additional properties in development.

What happened specifically in Tulum has not been explained.

Questions also emerge in Bacalar

At almost the same time, there are signs of changes involving Our Habitas Bacalar, although there is currently no evidence that the Bacalar hotel has closed.

In recent days, travelers attempting to book the property have reported difficulty finding it through some of the usual booking channels. One traveler said they contacted Our Habitas directly through the company’s Instagram account and were told that the Bacalar property was no longer part of the Our Habitas portfolio.

Another commenter in Bacalar reported transporting guests to the property and said it appeared to be operating normally.

There are also conflicting signals online.

As of early October, travel booking site Despegar continues to offer rooms at Our Habitas Bacalar for dates later this month, while American Express Travel continues to list the property as part of Ennismore and is advertising an offer valid for stays through December.

The Our Habitas website also still contains pages for the Bacalar property, although some of the offers displayed there expired in September.

There has been no public announcement from Our Habitas or Ennismore confirming a sale, closure or change of operator at Bacalar. For now, the available evidence suggests the hotel itself continues to operate, while its future relationship with the Our Habitas brand remains unclear.

A sudden end in Tulum

The closure comes during an already difficult low season for Tulum’s tourism industry. Local tourism workers have reported reduced schedules, mandatory vacation periods and so-called “solidarity days” as hotels and other tourism businesses adjust staffing during September and October.

Employees of Our Habitas, however, have questioned whether low occupancy was responsible for their hotel’s closure. Some workers told local media that the property continued to have guests and activity before operations stopped and believe changes in management may have played a role. That assertion has not been independently confirmed.

The lack of an explanation is particularly striking given Ennismore’s continuing expansion in Mexico. The company has identified the Americas as a major growth market, established an office in Cancún to support its Mexican operations and is developing additional hotel projects in the country.

For the former employees of Our Habitas Tulum, however, the larger corporate picture is secondary to a much more immediate concern.

They want to know who is responsible for paying the wages and benefits they say they are owed.

Until Our Habitas, Ennismore or Accor explains the circumstances surrounding the closure, another question remains unanswered as well: how did the Tulum property where the Habitas story began go from operating hotel to closed doors with apparently little warning?