Hyatt Hotels Corporation, based in Chicago, has secured a deal for its affiliate to acquire Mr. & Mrs. Smith, based in the UK, according to a press release.
“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, Hyatt. “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.”
Specializing in direct booking access to a catalog of 1,500 boutique and luxury properties, Mr. & Mrs. Smith was fully acquired by Hyatt in a translation valued to be over $58 million in cash.
Through this acquisition, Hyatt hopes to leverage its distribution capabilities by partnering with hotel owners and more than 1 million Mr. & Mrs. Smith members.
Credit Suisse contributed to the transaction as Hyatt’s financial advisor, while Linklaters LLP served as legal advisor. For Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Arrowpoint Advisory served as financial advisor and Fieldfisher LLP as legal advisor.
The acquisition of Mr. & Mrs. Smith follows other recent additions, such as Dream Hotel Group’s lifestyle brand and management slate, the conversion of a portfolio of more than 30 franchise agreements with Lindner Hotels & Resorts and the triple-growth of the World of Hyatt loyalty program, among other sources of growth for Hyatt’s global portfolio.
“The anticipated move will have the potential to unlock access to 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,” a recent press release stated. “World of Hyatt members are some of the most valuable travelers in the industry who spend more and stay more, generating high-quality revenue for hotel owners.”
Once the acquisition is finalized, more than 100 Mr. & Mrs. Smith colleagues have been selected to join Hyatt’s Commercial Services team. The transition will include Tamara Lohan, who will assume the role of Mr. & Mrs. Smith CEO, and report to Hyatt’s chief commercial officer, Mark Vondrasek, as well as James Lohan, who will serve as Mr. & Mrs. Smith chief creative officer.
Hyatt expects to close the transaction during the second quarter of this year. The company also confirmed plans to grant direct booking access to the Mr. & Mrs. Smith platform through its website and app.
“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,” said Tamara Lohan, co-founder and chief executive officer, Mr. & Mrs. Smith. “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.”