Hilton partners with Small Luxury Hotels of the World, which means that Hyatt Hotels Corporation likely loses its partnership with the collection of independent hotel properties 5.5 years after first officially announcing it.
Hilton Partners With Small Luxury Hotels of the World
The strategic partnership is expected to dramatically expand the luxury experiences offered by Hilton, as unique Small Luxury Hotels of the World hotel properties join those of the growing Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts and LXR Hotels & Resorts brands.
“Through this exclusive partnership, which will ramp up in the months ahead, all of Hilton’s customers, including the more than 180 million members of Hilton Honors, will soon be able to dream, book and earn and redeem Points for stays at participating properties in the SLH community of 560 luxury boutique hotels spanning 90 countries. These locations are highly complementary to Hilton’s vast network of hotels and will give guests access to additional luxury accommodations in hundreds of new destinations”, according to the official announcement which was released earlier today, Wednesday, February 7, 2024. “Hilton continues to offer customers the right stay for every travel occasion through an unmatched portfolio of industry-leading brands plus exclusive partnerships that create more experiences for guests to dream about. The partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World adds to the company’s dramatic growth trajectory and reflects its focus on accelerating offerings for customers in the hottest, fastest-growing segments and markets of the industry.”
The catalyst for the likely termination of the partnership between Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Small Luxury Hotels of the World was likely the acquisition of the Mr & Mrs Smith collection of boutique and luxury hotel properties that was officially announced on Friday, April 28, 2023. At that time, IHG Hotels & Resorts was partnered with Mr & Mrs Smith; and that partnership ended on Friday, June 9, 2023.
No date has been set for the end of the partnership between Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Small Luxury Hotels of the World at the time this article was written.
Final Boarding Call
More details of this new partnership between Hilton partners with Small Luxury Hotels of the World will be announced soon; but members of the Hilton Honors membership program will be able to earn and redeem points at participating hotel properties — plus enjoy exclusive benefits as well that will only be available to members.
This partnership certainly gives members of Hilton Honors more options within the luxury lodging space worldwide…
…but note this sentence: “Participating Small Luxury Hotels of the World hotel properties will be bookable on all Hilton channels, giving the hotels exposure to a broad audience while allowing them to retain the independent spirit that makes each property unique.” The word participating suggests to me that not all of the 560 hotel properties of Small Luxury Hotels of the World will participate fully with Hilton — especially as some of these independent hotel properties are apparently also currently part of the Mr & Mrs Smith collection of hotel properties.
Time will only tell as to what details are revealed in this interesting scenario…
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.
