Hyatt Hotels Is Replacing Its Old Loyalty Program With a Brand New One
Skift Take
Everyone in the hotel space is taking a good, hard look at their loyalty programs for good reason, and Hyatt is no exception. It'll be interesting, however, to see if their strategy to appeal to the "sophisticated high-end traveler" delivers.
Beginning March 1, 2017, the Hyatt Gold Passport program, which counts approximately 20 million members, will cease to exist and, in its place, a new hospitality loyalty program will emerge: World of Hyatt.
The new loyalty program reflects a somewhat significant loyalty strategy pivot for Hyatt Hotels Corporation in that it was distinctly designed to appeal to "build community and engage with our customers who are that high end of the travel space," according to Hyatt Global CMO Maryam Banikarim.
In April, Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian gave a bit of a hint to Skift about this shift, as well, saying:
"Assuming that the Marriott/Starwood merger closes, we will soon be the only multibrand, multinational company in the industry that is clearly hyperfocused on the high-end traveler. Every one of our brands in the different segments that we operate in are positioned in the top end of that particular segment. So that focus on the high-end traveler, a second focus on experiences, and third, how we enlist our own colleagues to bring those experiences to life and how we operate on that dimension. Those are all critical to our success."
What prompted Hyatt to debut a brand-new
