Hyatt reinforces luxury positioning...

Mr & Mrs Smith founders will join Hyatt as chief executive officer and chief creative officer

Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Mr & Mrs Smith have announced an agreement for a Hyatt affiliate to acquire 100% London-based Mr & Mrs Smith, a platform offering direct booking access to a growing collection of more than 1,500 boutique and luxury properties in some of the world’s most desirable locations.

Hyatt chief commercial officer Mark Vondrasek said: “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.

Founders Tamara and James Lohan built the global direct booking engine and its collection of unique hotel experiences, including some located in treehouses, within caves and underwater suites.

The acquisition of Mr & Mrs Smith is in line with Hyatt’s positioning in the luxury hotel space and is intended to further strengthen Hyatt’s distribution capabilities, especially across Europe, by forging relationships with additional hotel owners and more than a million Mr & Mrs Smith members.

Hyatt recently completed its acquisition of Dream Hotel Group’s lifestyle brand and management portfolio and the conversion of a portfolio of over 30 franchise agreements with Lindner Hotels & Resorts. As a result, membership in the World of Hyatt loyalty programme has more than tripled during the past five years.

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Mr & Mrs Smith-founder and CEO Tamara Lohan said: “Our vision has always been for Mr & Mrs Smith to be the world’s definitive travel club for hotel lovers. Thanks to Hyatt, that vision has become much closer to reality. With Hyatt’s support, Mr & Mrs Smith will be able to offer our community of members, hoteliers and partners so much more.”

Following the planned acquisition, more than 100 Mr & Mrs Smith colleagues are expected to join Hyatt’s Commercial Services team, including Tamara Lohan who will serve as Mr & Mrs Smith CEO, reporting to Mark Vondrasek, Hyatt’s chief commercial officer, and James Lohan who will serve as Mr & Mrs Smith chief creative officer.

For more information, visit www.hyatt.com