Hyatt Announces Acquisition of High-End Booking Platform Mr & Mrs Smith

Global hospitality company Hyatt has announced its plans to purchase the high-end hotel booking site Mr & Mrs Smith for £53 million.

Mr & Mrs Smith, which was founded in London in 2003, offers direct booking access to over 1,500 boutique and luxury properties across the globe. As part of the transition, over 100 employees from Mr & Mrs Smith will join Hyatt, including founders Tamara Lohan and James Lohan, as CEO and Chief Creative Officer respectively.

According to Hyatt, the acquisition will enhance its distribution capabilities, particularly in Europe, by establishing connections with a wider network of hotel owners and over 1 million members of the loyalty program associated with Mr & Mrs Smith.

Hyatt’s Acquisition Strategy

Hyatt’s ongoing acquisition strategy continues to fortify its growth trajectory, with the most recent addition being the procurement of Dream Hotel Group‘s brand and management portfolio. These strategic alliances have primarily been financed through the divestment of owned real estate.

In a recent interview regarding the introduction of Hyatt Studios, an extended-stay brand, Mark Hoplamazian, the President and CEO of Hyatt, expressed his company’s commitment to pursuing acquisitions as a means of fostering expansion. This approach mirrors the successful paths taken with previous acquisitions, such as Dream, Two Roads Hospitality, and Apple Leisure Group, in recent years.

“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 – including over 20 countries where there are currently no Hyatt hotels such as Fiji, Croatia, Iceland and Anguilla,” said Mark Vondrasek, chief commercial officer for Hyatt.

 Hyatt on the present deal:

 “Founders Tamara and James Lohan alongside their impressive team have built the ultimate global direct booking collection of truly unique stay experiences, including rooms located in treehouses, within caves and underwater suites. Importantly, we see a lot of synergy between our collective ethos of care, and we look forward to working together to bring our shared focus to new, memorable stay experiences for guests and World of Hyatt members – and introduce new guests to Hyatt hotels around the world.” – Mark Vondrasek.

Mr & Mrs Smith on the deal:

“I am really excited that we have found such a dynamic and globally trusted brand as Hyatt to take Mr & Mrs Smith into our next chapter. We have long admired and respected Hyatt and are confident that there is no one better placed to build on what we have achieved and take our company to new heights.”

“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.” – Tamara Lohan.