Hyatt to acquire Mr & Mrs Smith for £53m
Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced an agreement to buy London-based luxury hotel platform Mr & Mrs Smith for £53m.
Founded in 2003, Mr & Mrs Smith is a boutique and luxury hotel booking service with more than 1,800 hotels and villas on its platform and more than one million members.
Following the planned acquisition, more than 100 Mr & Mrs Smith employees are expected to join Hyatt's commercial services team, including co-founders Tamara and James Lohan. Tamara Lohan will serve as Mr & Mrs Smith chief executive, reporting to Hyatt's chief commercial officer Mark Vondrasek, while James Lohan will serve as Mr & Mrs Smith chief creative officer.
The transaction is anticipated to close in the second quarter of this year, following which, Hyatt plans to add direct booking access to properties within the Mr & Mrs Smith platform through Hyatt's distribution channels, including Hyatt.com and the World of Hyatt app.
The move will mean the addition of more than twice the number of global boutique and luxury properties within Hyatt direct booking channels, and Hyatt is exploring ways to enable World of Hyatt members to earn and redeem points across eligible hotels in the Mr & Mrs Smith collection.
"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 Vondrasek.
"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."
Tamara Lohan added: "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."
Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels Corporation has a portfolio of more than 1,250 hotels and all-inclusive properties in 75 countries across brands including Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Andaz, Hyatt Centric, and the Unbound Collection by Hyatt.
Hyatt opened its 13th affiliated UK hotel, the 142-bedroom Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment, in January as part of "ambitious and strategic" growth plans for the UK in 2023 and beyond.
