Hyatt and an organization of boutique properties known as Small Luxury Hotels of the World announced a new partnership on August 1, in which they would provide recognition to each others’ most elite guests. This is similar in some ways to other Hyatt partnerships in the past, including the ongoing partnership between Hyatt and MGM Resorts in Las Vegas.
However, this partnership is of much greater scale since SLH brings over 500 independently owned hotels to the table. Hyatt has always been one of the smaller global hotel chains with roughly 700 properties. Between them Hyatt and SLH now boast over 1,200.
We now have more information on how the new partnership will begin to deliver benefits to customers. The alliance goes live today for new reservations, and you’ll be able to earn and redeem points through the World of Hyatt loyalty program for stays beginning on December 6, 2018. Roughly 50 of the SLH properties will participate to start, with the rest added throughout 2019.
Earning and Redemption Opportunities
- World of Hyatt members earn 5 Base Points per $1 USD spent on eligible room revenue
- World of Hyatt members will receive their standard tier Bonus Points on eligible room revenue spend (10% Discoverist, 20% Explorist, 30% Globalist)
- Qualifying nights at SLH hotels will count toward earning World of Hyatt elite-tier status
- World of Hyatt members can redeem points to use for free night awards on SLH hotel reservations; each SLH property has been categorized into Hyatt’s existing hotel award chart, which includes a new Category 8 at 40,000 points
Benefits for World of Hyatt Members
Participating SLH properties will provide the following on-property benefits to all World of Hyatt members. Note that no elite status is required–you need only be a member of World of Hyatt–but the perks are similar to what you would get as a mid-tier World of Hyatt Explorist member. I consider that a pretty good deal.
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
- Daily Complimentary Continental Breakfast
- Room Upgrade (one category at check-in if available)
- Early check-in (noon, based upon availability at check-in)
- Late check-out (2:00pm, based upon availability at check-in)
Even though the combination of Hyatt and SLH remains much smaller than Hilton, Marriott, or IHG (each has over 5,000 properties), SLH brings a much higher caliber of hotel to the partnership. As a result World of Hyatt will be introducing a new Category 8 tier for award redemptions that cost 40,000 points per night. Previously the most expensive hotels in World of Hyatt cost 30,000 points–and there were only a small handful.
Hyatt’s PR team shared some of these details with me in advance and made a point to emphasize that they chose hotels that would augment geographies where Hyatt’s own footprint has been lacking. Examples include: the Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amista, a sixteenth-century villa in Verona; Pangkor Laut Resort, located on a private island in Malaysia; and the San Antonio, a romantic property offering sea views from the Caldera plateau in Santorini. You can learn more about these and other participating properties in the new SLH and Hyatt partnership on their website.
