EDITOR'S COMMENT
• Will it be a case of third time lucky for Hyatt after plans were announced to re-enter the short-term rental category with the upcoming launch of its new Homes & Hideaways platform? The hotel corporation previously invested in Oasis Collections and onefinestay but both partnerships were short-lived as the two companies were acquired by Vacasa and Accor within a year.
Despite these segways into the category six to eight years ago, Hyatt has made clear inroads to establish itself in the short-term rental segment once again over the last 12 months. Last year, the company rebranded its Hyatt House offering by unveiling a digital campaign featuring a "Home is Where" slogan, and in June, it purchased hotel booking platform Mr & Mrs Smith, which also offers a luxury private villa collection, for £53 million in cash.
Like many of its competitors such as Marriott, Accor and Hilton, Hyatt is launching a home rental platform that diversifies its lodging portfolio, not only to roll out a flexible alternative for traditional hotel seekers, but also to incentivise its loyalty scheme World of Hyatt members to redeem points and strengthen Hyatt's own brand recognition in the long term. Although only initially available to bookers and members in the United States, Hyatt has big plans to expand the platform on a global scale in the near future.
The fact that Hyatt has also sold the entirety of its existing vacation rental management business [in Colorado and Hawaii] to real estate investor Lowe is also significant because it will grant members direct booking access to a vetted collection of private homes and control throughout the booking process. Having observed its competitors' own booking site launches, Hyatt will be intent on offering personalised service consistent with its brand and the reassurance and security that all travellers crave for a stay.
• Don't forget to book your tickets for our inaugural STRz Summit in less than three weeks' time at Skyline London on Wednesday 18 October. Check out our packed agenda and expert collection of speakers - get your tickets now at this link.
• Our next webinar [sponsored by Touch Stay] is tomorrow at 4pm BST on 'Customer lifetime value: how to increase revenue, shift orphan nights, pitch upsells' - sign up at no cost here.
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