Hyatt's New Alliance Hints at the Future of Hotel Loyalty Programs
Skift Take
If independent hotel collections like Small Luxury Hotels of the World and its peers want to thrive, pursuing more loyalty tie-ins seems likely, but they have to be careful to stress the additional value they can bring for independent hotels. Otherwise, what's stopping independents from flocking to the hotel soft brands?
Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels Corporation, which has a global portfolio of more than 700 hotels, announced Wednesday a new loyalty alliance with London-based Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) — a collection of more than 500 independent luxury hotels from around the world.
By the end of this year, World of Hyatt loyalty members can earn and redeem points for stays at participating SLH hotels when they book those stays through Hyatt channels.
Whether there are similar benefits for SLH's Invited loyalty program members is not yet confirmed, but details of the alliance are still being worked out, a Hyatt spokesperson told Skift. For now, however, the primary focus of the partnership is to allow World of Hyatt members to earn and redeem points when they stay at select SLH hotels.
An Industry First?
Independent hotel collections such as SLH and its peers — which include brands such as Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Leading Hotels of t
