In June 2023, Hyatt acquired luxury booking platform Mr & Mrs Smith. The plan was for Mr & Mrs Smith properties to eventually be integrated into the World of Hyatt booking platform, and that’s now starting to go live. Let’s go over all the details.
In this post:
What is Mr & Mrs Smith?
For some background, Hyatt acquired the Mr & Mrs Smith platform for an enterprise value of £53 million in cash consideration, described as representing “an attractive acquisition multiple in the high-single digits on projected stabilized earnings.”
For those not familiar with Mr & Mrs Smith, the company describes itself as a “travel club and boutique hotel specialist,” and is affiliated with over 2,000 hotels, and counting. The way I view it, Mr & Mrs Smith is essentially a luxury travel agency and marketing agency of sorts.
Mr & Mrs Smith doesn’t manage any hotels, but rather gets a commission when people book through the company. In turn, Mr & Mrs Smith offers some perks to those who book through the company. Think of it as being along the lines of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) and Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) — these companies also don’t manage hotels, but rather market a variety of properties.
Arguably Mr & Mrs Smith has even fewer requirements than LHW and SLH when it comes to exclusivity and standards. You’ll find that many Mr & Mrs Smith properties also belong to other hotel groups or marketing organizations, and Mr & Mrs Smith markets properties belonging to many of the world’s best hotel brands.
Hyatt acquired Mr & Mrs Smith to enhance its position in the luxury hotel market, and further strengthen Hyatt’s distribution capabilities, especially in Europe. Hyatt hopes that this will help the brand forge relations with additional hotel owners, and more than one million Mr & Mrs Smith members.
While World of Hyatt historically had a partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World, that’s being discontinued as of May 15, 2024, in favor of this new partnership. Instead, SLH is launching a partnership with Hilton Honors.
What Mr & Mrs Smith means for World of Hyatt members
We’re finally starting to see the details of how Mr & Mrs Smith will participate in World of Hyatt, so let’s go over everything we know so far. Note that some details are still being ironed out.
Hyatt is starting to integrate Mr & Mrs Smith properties in its booking channels as of April 24, 2024, so you should start to see these properties added when searching through Hyatt’s website and app. Initially only around 700 properties will be integrated into Hyatt booking channels, and you can expect that more properties will be added over time.
You need to book through Hyatt booking channels to be able to earn and redeem points. Mr & Mrs Smith will continue to exist independently as a website (owned by Hyatt), and if you book directly through there, you won’t receive perks (and in many cases, you may even get a better deal there).
Earning Hyatt points with Mr & Mrs Smith
When booking a Mr & Mrs Smith property through Hyatt channels, you’ll typically earn the same number of points as you would at a Hyatt property:
- World of Hyatt members earn five base points per USD spent on eligible room revenue with Mr & Mrs Smith (incidental spending isn’t eligible for points accrual), and those base points count toward lifetime World of Hyatt status
- World of Hyatt members receive their standard elite tier bonuses at Mr & Mrs Smith properties (10% for Discoverist, 20% for Explorist, and 30% for Globalist)
- World of Hyatt members receive standard elite nights for Mr & Mrs Smith stays
- Stays at Mr & Mrs Smith properties are eligible for World of Hyatt’s global promotions, plus World of Hyatt’s Brand Explorer promotion
- Stays at Mr & Mrs Smith properties can earn bonus miles though the American AAdvantage & World of Hyatt partnership
- However, World of Hyatt members paying with the World of Hyatt Credit Card (review) and World of Hyatt Business Credit Card (review) won’t receive 4x World of Hyatt points per dollar spent for Mr & Mrs Smith stays
This is mostly exciting, though just keep in mind that you might not always find the lowest rate through Hyatt’s channels, so you’ll want to compare pricing.
Redeeming Hyatt points with Mr & Mrs Smith
Points redemptions at Mr & Mrs Smith properties work differently than the standard World of Hyatt redemption rates. The good news is that you’ll be able to redeem your World of Hyatt points for any room at a Mr & Mrs Smith property, with no capacity controls.
The bad news is that pricing will be dynamic, and won’t follow any award chart. It would appear that you can expect that each World of Hyatt point will get you around 1.0-1.5 cents toward the cost of a stay at a Mr & Mrs Smith property. We’ll see how that pricing evolves, especially as we get more data points.
That’s decent, but also not much to get excited about, as it doesn’t represent outsized value. For what it’s worth, I value World of Hyatt points at 1.5 cents each.
Hyatt elite benefits with Mr & Mrs Smith
Since Mr & Mrs Smith properties aren’t actually managed by Hyatt, there won’t be much in the way of elite perks, at least not that are published. You will receive a “Smith Extra” with each stay, which is a property specific amenity defined by each property (this is the same thing you’d get if booked directly with Mr & Mrs Smith).
Furthermore, World of Hyatt Globalist members may receive room upgrades, but that’s not clearly defined beyond that.
My take on Hyatt’s Mr & Mrs Smith integration
I’d say that the Mr & Mrs smith integration into World of Hyatt is roughly what I was expecting. Essentially Hyatt is getting a commission when you book these properties, and is giving members a kickback in the form of points:
- The points earning rates are good, though just make sure you’re not paying too much of a premium compared to other booking channels; in many cases you’ll find better rates elsewhere
- The points redemption rates are okay, but this isn’t how I’d choose to redeem my World of Hyatt points, as I can get way more than 1.5 cents of value per point through Hyatt managed properties
- It’s not surprising that there aren’t really elite perks, given that these properties don’t actually have an affiliation with Hyatt, so there’s only so much that can be done
Bottom line
In June 2023, Hyatt acquired Mr & Mrs Smith, which is essentially a luxury travel agency. The hotels are now starting to be integrated into World of Hyatt. This is pretty exciting when it comes to the ability to earn and redeem points. Being able to earn points is potentially a good opportunity, though don’t expect you’ll get outsized value on the redemption front.
It’s always exciting when it’s possible to be rewarded for stays at boutique, luxury properties. I’m sure this partnership will prove to be valuable for many.
What do you make of Hyatt acquiring Mr & Mrs Smith ?
@Lucky Are resort fees waived on hyatt points bookings at MMS hotels?
Below is what IHG One members were promised they would get from the partnership with Mr & Mrs Smith:
Below is what IHG One members were promised they would get from the partnership with Mr & Mrs Smith:
In reality:
" IHG One Rewards members may earn and redeem their points at Mr & Mrs Smith hotels; however, because these are not IHG branded hotels, other IHG One Rewards benefits, including complimentary room upgrades, will not be available.
For some, the gravy train has been running for a long time. If Hyatt goes dynamic completely, what's your Plan B? Where will you then put all those CIP SUBs? If Chase decides to clamp down on Inks, what's your Plan C?
Last September, as an IHG Diamond Ambassador, I booked at stay at Bergen Børs Hotel in Bergen, Norway. Located near the harbour, the Bergen Børs Hotel is a gorgeous, "historic" Mr and Mrs Smith hotel "set in the glorious 19th-century Renaissance Revival building that once housed Bergen’s former stock exchange". My stay was after it had already been announced that the "partnership" between IHG and Mr & Mrs Smith was ending. If that partnership is...
Last September, as an IHG Diamond Ambassador, I booked at stay at Bergen Børs Hotel in Bergen, Norway. Located near the harbour, the Bergen Børs Hotel is a gorgeous, "historic" Mr and Mrs Smith hotel "set in the glorious 19th-century Renaissance Revival building that once housed Bergen’s former stock exchange". My stay was after it had already been announced that the "partnership" between IHG and Mr & Mrs Smith was ending. If that partnership is any indication, I would say that active World of Hyatt patrons need to manage their expectations by expecting less rather than more.
First, WoH members may get a statement like the following in confirmation emails after booking a stay at Mr & Mrs Smith hotel, like I got as an IHG member:
Sure enough, I got no free breakfast or any kind of elite recognition, and the points I earned on the IHG MC were what the card awards for travel, and not the 10x that I would earn at IHG hotels. Although the stay was quite nice, the only reason I stayed at this hotel was that there were no Hilton hotels in Bergen, and I suspect that for a similar reason and similar reason only it may make sense for Hyatt loyalists to stay at Mr & Mrs Smith hotels, considering Hyatt's limited footprint.
Lastly, it is not at all true that
That is how bogus claims that have become travel blogosphere dogma, like “any a standard room that is available for sale in a Hyatt hotel is available for redemption”, are hatched out of thin air. Until Hyatt establishes a fixed relationship between their points and cash so that they can be used interchangeably, statements about "no capacity controls" or about "any Hyatt standard room that is available for sale being available for points redemption" will always be bogus.
A few takeaways on your experience. First, IHG didn't own Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Hyatt does. That is a fundamental difference that will, I am sure, be far more in the heads of these properties that sign on as part of the whatever it is, alliance, booking platform, etc. I imagine the regulating will go a bit deeper.
Hyatt is clear that there are no amenities or perks for Globalists. As I think IHG was?...
A few takeaways on your experience. First, IHG didn't own Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Hyatt does. That is a fundamental difference that will, I am sure, be far more in the heads of these properties that sign on as part of the whatever it is, alliance, booking platform, etc. I imagine the regulating will go a bit deeper.
Hyatt is clear that there are no amenities or perks for Globalists. As I think IHG was? This is out in the open and very transparent. I still expect that at some properties this might change in the future. In places like Paris or London you might actually have one property offer them eventually as a competitive edge to others.
I agree that no capacity controls are a bit of a loose promise. But, as I said, with Hyatt owning Mr. and Mrs. Smith they are probably far more empowered to remove properties that are playing games.
Let's give it time. You may be right in the end, but I have confidence that this will shape up over time. It's certainly far more than I expected even. I honestly thought incorrectly that you would not even be able to redeem or get points.
True, unlike the loose IHG "partnership", Hyatt outright acquired Mr & Mrs Smith. However, with...
True, unlike the loose IHG "partnership", Hyatt outright acquired Mr & Mrs Smith. However, with Mr & Mrs Smith being essentially a booking platform that only provides access to a collection of independent luxury and boutique hotels, it is questionable that Hyatt 'regulating' will go much "deeper" than IHG's. That WoH members get exactly what IHG members got, which is not much, does not bode well. But, like you said, "let's give it time...
Hyatt owning Mr & Mrs Smith will not eliminate "capacity controls" any more than for hotels that Hyatt owns or directly manages, the constant gaslighting by self-anointed "travel gurus" claiming the contrary notwithstanding.
It’s great to see that in every way, Hyatt and the amazing WOH program continue to live rent free in your head!
Not as much as the bogus claims, which I am ridding the world of, continue to live in yours.
BTW, whatever happened to SPG? Have you overcome your necrophilia?
LT Titanium when I need or want it (which isn't often). You seem to live in the past, which is amusing.
I choose the clear-cut best loyalty program in the business now - WOH, and the single best loyalty tier, Globalist.
Feel free to keep polishing your Hilton turd though.
Hyatt has an awful lot of work to catch up on their acquisitions.
Recently been to the Mayan Coast in Mexico. The Dream, Secrets, Breathless, Ziva, Zilara, Impressions, Zoetry properties takeover was large and perhaps too much at once. I visited several and found them far below in standards of service and most certainly the food & beverage quality. It is not what I have experienced at Hyatts. I am a Globalist.
I...
Hyatt has an awful lot of work to catch up on their acquisitions.
Recently been to the Mayan Coast in Mexico. The Dream, Secrets, Breathless, Ziva, Zilara, Impressions, Zoetry properties takeover was large and perhaps too much at once. I visited several and found them far below in standards of service and most certainly the food & beverage quality. It is not what I have experienced at Hyatts. I am a Globalist.
I can only hope that Hyatt has enough experienced people and new hires to be sent to bring all those properties up to Hyatt standards. I heard they are in the grapevine. They are needed immediately.
Hopefully Smith will be ready, have the right personnel in place and open at Hyatt standards.
A
The good news is that you’ll be able to redeem your World of Hyatt points for any room at a Mr & Mrs Smith property, with no capacity controls.
^Lucky you may want to fact check this. Have your intern give it a whirl.
I'm seeing mostly the entry level rooms only for redemptions. No options for suites etc. This was analyzing a dozen random properties. Many of the smaller "inns" were coming in at 29K for the most basic room which I guess is not awful. But I would like to see more options for suites as well between 30K and 50K.
I don't believe the lack of capacity controls. There are a few properties that you...
I'm seeing mostly the entry level rooms only for redemptions. No options for suites etc. This was analyzing a dozen random properties. Many of the smaller "inns" were coming in at 29K for the most basic room which I guess is not awful. But I would like to see more options for suites as well between 30K and 50K.
I don't believe the lack of capacity controls. There are a few properties that you can reserve but do not have redemptions showing.
I imagine a lot of these things may be worked out over the weeks ahead. Honestly, for me, it opens up some really cool properties that I want to try on paid rates and is nice to also get Hyatt points. But I will choose carefully as missing out on Globalist benefits is not ideal. If they would bring in Globalist perks I would be booking a lot more of these.
WOH needs to understand that if they do a systemwide devaluation to 1.2 cents per dollar, they will lose their only current value advantage over Hilton and Marriott. A large part of staying at Hyatt vs the others is calculating my points return and monetizing it as a discount against total price. As in taking the various value of points earned into account, $100 is "cheaper" for me at Hyatt than Hilton or Marriot. Unless...
WOH needs to understand that if they do a systemwide devaluation to 1.2 cents per dollar, they will lose their only current value advantage over Hilton and Marriott. A large part of staying at Hyatt vs the others is calculating my points return and monetizing it as a discount against total price. As in taking the various value of points earned into account, $100 is "cheaper" for me at Hyatt than Hilton or Marriot. Unless they increase general earning rates for stays, Hyatt no longer wins with that degree of devaluation, and it's not like there are a ton of other objective reasons to prefer them
I looked at several of the Mr and Mr Smith properties in the United Kingdom, where they have some attractive country inns and local hotels in quaint towns and villages a little off the U.S. tourist trail. Some of the cash rates are under US$180 a night. Here's an example for early June. The George Hotel in Rye, England. For a standard room, US$117 per night directly through the hotel, $98.11 through Mr and Mrs Smith, or US$98.15 or 11,250 points through Hyatt.com.
I think this is the only "good" thing about Mr and Mrs Smith. You can find some interesting hotels in markets that otherwise don't have a chain hotel. And you get a Hyatt night out of it. $98.15 for a quaint 3 1/2 or 4 star in a small English town is a pretty good deal with or without breakfast benefits. It's certainly better than spending $5,000 on the Hyatt-Chase Visa credit card to get elite credit for 2 nights.
I check a few properties in Norcal and the points prices all show less than 1 cent value. Example - Point Reyes Inn prices at $337 or 36k points. A propery in Yountville costs either $800 or 92k points. Are you f'n.kidding me? This is a disaster. IHG and Marriott all have variable pricing but they aren't directly tied to the room cash cost. So you often find good value vs cash price and they...
I check a few properties in Norcal and the points prices all show less than 1 cent value. Example - Point Reyes Inn prices at $337 or 36k points. A propery in Yountville costs either $800 or 92k points. Are you f'n.kidding me? This is a disaster. IHG and Marriott all have variable pricing but they aren't directly tied to the room cash cost. So you often find good value vs cash price and they have 4th or 5th night free benefits. As it is, this is completely pointless. And much more concerning is the introduction of dynamic awards. If Hyatt goes the United route and essentially sells you points for 2 cents but never provides more than 1 cent value them forget it. Hyatt will be dead. Customers will run away faster than they could ever imagine because their footprint is so low, no one will pick out a Hyatt over a Marriott
Calm down. Points game ending anyways, loyalty matters but it doesn't. A collective race to the bottom won't overall change spending habits of consumers.
I stayed in Prague at a Smith property through ihg using my chase free visa night
Was able to book a suite and get an excellent continental breakfast complimentary as a Platinum
I don’t see at this time I would even bother booking through Hyatt as a globalist but I hope I’m Wrong
No breakfast late check out no sale ever
This is a complete disaster of a partnership if they are pegging value at 1.2-1.3 cents a point.
The prices just shows Hyatt's eventual intentions. I would not be surprised if they start moving towards Hilton and Marriott ways in the near future.
70-90k+ points per night at some of these “Mr and Mrs Smith properties is ridiculous.
Just when I thought 90k was high saw a property for 196k per night.
The majority I have been looking at are around 29K which seems not bad at all. More likely it's all dependent. An Aman will of course be insanely priced for points as it is for rates.
So basically this “partnership” is almost useless for true Hyatt loyalists. I would never redeem my points for less than 3 cents per point at Hyatt and if you aren’t earning bonus points by using the Hyatt credit card, then that’s also a waste.
Sounds good enough to me. Wish that the Chase CC could give the 4x points though since that is the only 'good' way to put spend on it. It was clear that this integration had to accommodate a lot of variance in what these hotels are (compared to standard Hyatt Regencies, Park Hyatts, etc).
I am sure lots of people will bellyache about dynamic pricing. I'd rather have a dynamic pricing model than have...
Sounds good enough to me. Wish that the Chase CC could give the 4x points though since that is the only 'good' way to put spend on it. It was clear that this integration had to accommodate a lot of variance in what these hotels are (compared to standard Hyatt Regencies, Park Hyatts, etc).
I am sure lots of people will bellyache about dynamic pricing. I'd rather have a dynamic pricing model than have 1 room at each property defined as 'standard' and the rest become unbookable with points all together. In fact, over time, the number of Hyatt properties that are impossible to book with points because they have so few standard rooms seems to be increasing every month. As someone that would like to just 'book what I want', I find it annoying that on points I have to book Room A, and hope/ask for what I really want. And with most hotels, just can't book anything altogether on points because every room is a "view" or "deluxe" room (i.e. HR Paris Etoile). The romantic notion of searching for awesome pt redemptions vs cash rates is waning with age and impatience.
This is noteworthy.
I went to book a Mr. and Mrs. Smith Hyatt-participating property. It appears on the booking page:
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Stays at Mr & Mrs Smith properties do not count as purchases at Hyatt hotels and resorts for purposes of the World of Hyatt Credit Card or the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card. World of Hyatt credit card members will earn 1 Bonus Point per $1 USD spent using their World...
This is noteworthy.
I went to book a Mr. and Mrs. Smith Hyatt-participating property. It appears on the booking page:
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Stays at Mr & Mrs Smith properties do not count as purchases at Hyatt hotels and resorts for purposes of the World of Hyatt Credit Card or the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card. World of Hyatt credit card members will earn 1 Bonus Point per $1 USD spent using their World of Hyatt Credit Card or the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card.
At least with Marriott's Design and Tribute brands, which are the Marriott equivalent of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, you more elite status benefits and credit card spend bonuses.
I imagine this also means you may not get Hyatt points on any incidental spending at a Mr. and Mrs. Smith property.
Yeah, that’s awful. Hyatt really missed the mark with this partnership. Provides very little value.
Funny enough there are some properties that are part of another chain and still under the Smiths.
Mr and Mrs Smith was never a chain or a brand. It was essentially a travel agency selling special packages at recommended/partner hotels. Hyatt buying Mr and Mr Smith would be like Hilton buying AmEx Fine Hotels.
No bonus points for WOH credit card:
"When using my World of Hyatt Credit Card, do I earn World of Hyatt Bonus Points at Participating Mr & Mrs Smith Properties like I would at Hyatt hotels and resorts?
No. Currently, Participating Mr & Mrs Smith Properties are not considered a “Hyatt hotel or resort” for purposes of earning bonus points on World of Hyatt credit card spend."
"Outsized value" is an endangered species. In 10-20 years we'll have fond memories of "outsized value" but generally, points are all becoming fixed in what they're worth.
On the bright side, getting 3x on a Chase Sapphire card which provides 1.5 cents per point fixed-value is still the equivalent of (less flexible) 4.5% cash back. I think this is all we can expect in the future, and it's not horrible. It's only horrible for 1x...
"Outsized value" is an endangered species. In 10-20 years we'll have fond memories of "outsized value" but generally, points are all becoming fixed in what they're worth.
On the bright side, getting 3x on a Chase Sapphire card which provides 1.5 cents per point fixed-value is still the equivalent of (less flexible) 4.5% cash back. I think this is all we can expect in the future, and it's not horrible. It's only horrible for 1x spend which would pay out worse than a standard (no annual fee) 2% cash back card.
So the problem is that you can lose elite benefits or points earning when you use credit card portals for hotel stay redemptions. For some chains and elite statuses that's something like losing 10-15% of the value of the stay as rebate plus no free breakfast, you get the Expedia room with the scenic view of the air conditioning ducts next to the noisy elevator and won't be upgraded, etc.
Your reply is off-topic and not what OP was talking about.
Dynamic pricing is an attrocious part of this, for points stays. Is this confirmed by Hyatt to be permanent, or is it an intermediate step while categories are issued?
I am more worried about the opposite--that dynamic pricing for Mr & Mrs Smith properties is an intermediate step for them to introduce it systemwide across their platform. Obviously, I hope I am wrong!
I for one would welcome a change to a model where the value of pts is fixed on the redemption side. Just make it 1.4 cents per point, open all the rooms to be bookable on pts if they are available on any date, and be done with all the games of hotels categorizing nothing as 'standard rooms', the weird 'high season'/'low season' stuff, and searching on end where and when a pts redemption is...
I for one would welcome a change to a model where the value of pts is fixed on the redemption side. Just make it 1.4 cents per point, open all the rooms to be bookable on pts if they are available on any date, and be done with all the games of hotels categorizing nothing as 'standard rooms', the weird 'high season'/'low season' stuff, and searching on end where and when a pts redemption is the 'best'. I have a life to live, and it needn't circle around figuring out the game of hotel pts.
The worse of all worlds would be a model like AA though, where mileage redemptions are all over the place and not tied at all to price. Rather, they just algorithm you to death and know they can charge 20K more points for wanting to fly on a Saturday vs a Tuesday (even though Tuesday is the busier travel day).