Photo Credit: Hyatt
A London-based affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corp. has struck a deal to acquire the Mr & Mrs Smith luxury-lodging platform, which offers direct-booking access to a collection of more than 1,500 boutique and luxury hotels around the world. When the deal is finalized, Hyatt will acquire 100 percent of the platform for about US$66.2 million.
Mr & Mrs Smith founders Tamara and James Lohan have incorporated a wide range of unique luxury-lodging experiences into the platform, including rooms in treehouses, caves and underwater suites, as well as more "traditional" high-end independent hotels around the globe.
For Hyatt, the deal strengthens its distribution capabilities in the luxury segment, particularly in Europe, but also in other far-flung destinations.
"We are excited by this planned acquisition, and to explore bringing guests and World of Hyatt members even more global luxury offerings across hundreds of geographies — including over 20 countries where there are currently no Hyatt hotels, such as Fiji, Croatia, Iceland and Anguilla," noted Mark Vondrasek, chief commercial officer at Hyatt. "We see a lot of synergy between our collective ethos of care, and we look forward to working together to bring our shared focus to new, memorable-stay experiences for guests."
Hyatt plans to unveil direct-booking access to properties on the Mr & Mrs Smith platform through its own distribution channels, including Hyatt.com and the World of Hyatt app. That would more than double the number of global boutique and luxury properties available through the company's direct-booking channels and, eventually, in the World of Hyatt loyalty portfolio. Details still are being worked out around the specifics of point redemption.
Mr & Mrs Smith had previously had a booking and loyalty club agreement with IHG One Rewards.
The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023, at which point more than 100 Mr & Mrs Smith employees will join Hyatt's commercial services team. Tamara Lohan will serve as Mr & Mrs Smith CEO and report directly to Vondrasek, while James Lohan will be chief creative officer for Mr & Mrs Smith.