Hyatt’s Dream Acquisition

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, November 30. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

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Episode Notes

The hotel industry continues to consolidate. Hyatt Hotels said on Tuesday it would pay $125 million to buy Dream Hotel Group’s three brands, which are Dream Hotels, The Chatwal Hotels, and Unscripted Hotels. The deal adds a dozen open hotels to Hyatt’s network, reports Skift Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill.

Hyatt might also add two dozen more branded properties if it acts on an option to pay an extra $175 million and buy agreements that Dream Hotels Group has signed with several property owners. If Hyatt takes that step, it will pay up to $300 million in total. The move will boost Hyatt’s holdings in lifestyle hotels, a category of properties that have eye-catching decor and a hip nightlife. The deal will also boost Hyatt’s number of properties in New York City by about 30 percent.

We now turn to Lufthansa, which recently launched an advertising campaign around the FIFA World Cup. “Diversity Wins” is the theme of the ad campaign from the German flag carrier, writes Skift Contributor Samanatha Shankman. Lufthansa communicates this message in a one-minute video of various nationalities swapping sport jerseys with each other.

The campaign’s light-hearted and celebratory tone quietly asserts Lufthansa’s brand value of acceptance. The campaign takes this subtle approach as a way to distance itself from some of Qatar’s discriminatory stances as the host of the world’s largest sporting event. The ad’s closing message is “Football connects. Lufthansa brings us together. All of us.”

We end now with a report from Saudi Arabia and the annual conference of the World Travel and Tourism Council, or WTTC. Speakers at the event were broadly optimistic about global tourism, but many lamented the ongoing lack of Chinese tourists, reports Corporate Travel Editor Matthew Parsons. A recovery won’t be a recovery without the presence of citizens from the globe’s second largest economy, according to industry leaders. For example, Greg O’Hara, founder and senior managing director at travel investor Certares, said that, “Having the Chinese back in the thick of things would be great for the rest of the industry.” But there’s no sense yet when that might happen, Parsons reports.