This Is the Fastest-growing Hotel Loyalty Program in the World - and How It’s Evolving in 2024

Hotel brands (and their rewards programs) are adapting to a changing landscape of travel trends. For Hyatt, with a member base that has quadrupled in the past five years, that means a renewed focus on certain themes: extending loyalty beyond members themselves, offering more flexibility with rewards earned, and recognizing travelers for their loyalty. 

The core pillar underlying it all, however, is growing Hyatt, especially when it comes to luxury and lifestyle hotels around the world.

"The best thing we can do for Hyatt is to grow Hyatt," said Mark Vondrasek, Hyatt's chief commercial officer, in an interview with Travel + Leisure.

T+L got a sneak peek under the hood at the company's Chicago headquarters, including what to expect from Hyatt's purchase of the Mr. and Mrs. Smith platform. 

Bigger Isn't Always Better

As a far smaller brand than its competitors, Hyatt must rely on something else to get frequent travelers invested. For Hyatt, that "something else" is the overall value of World of Hyatt, the fastest-growing hotel loyalty program in the world. "We don't have scale to our advantage so we have to make up for it," Vondrasek said.

For 2024, elite benefits - and rewards offered along the way -- will generally be easier to use and more customizable. Furthermore, there are no major changes to how Hyatt members earn status.

The longstanding Hyatt "Milestone Rewards" get a fresh new look come January 1, 2024. Think of these as markers on the way toward earning Hyatt elite status.

"The new Milestone Rewards are rooted in what we heard from our members - we understood they wanted more rewards and more choice - so we are offering a wider array of options to craft their travel journey," said Amy Weinberg, Hyatt's senior vice president, brand, loyalty and data.

These rewards are earned after 20 Hyatt nights and continue for each 10 qualifying nights, up to 150 nights annually (up from 100 currently).

World of Hyatt members will now get the option to choose from a selection of rewards at each milestone, including points for future stays, room upgrades, and more. Even better, almost every Milestone Reward can now be gifted to another member.

Perhaps most intriguing is the revamp of Hyatt's "Guest of Honor" benefit, extending the award to more travelers to provide a taste of what top-tier Globalist status is like.

Guest of Honor, now a Milestone Reward offered starting at 40 nights, invites members to swanky perks for up to a single consecutive seven-night stay, including complimentary breakfast, upgrades to suites, and 4:00 p.m. late checkout. 

As a testament to how important this particular benefit is, Vondrasek called Guest of Honor the "ultimate differentiator for Hyatt."

On the flip side, top-tier Hyatt status holders will no longer have unlimited access to it, as they do today. As a consolation, Globalist status holders will receive a one-time deposit of five Guest of Honor rewards in January 2024.  

In addition, come early 2024, Hyatt is modernizing its in-app, mobile, and desktop user experience with the ability to perform many self-service functions, including booking Guest of Honor reservations online. For a full breakdown of the new Milestone Award chart, visit Hyatt's website. 

More Luxury and Lifestyle Hotels

In conjunction with loyalty updates, expanding the portfolio, especially boutique and luxury properties, is a key part of the long-term plan. 

Currently, 70 percent of Hyatt hotels are in the "luxury and upper upscale" category.

That will be boosted further with the integration of the 1,500 independent hotels on the Mr. and Mrs. Smith platform. Vondrasek noted the deal involves hotels in 20 countries where there are currently no Hyatt-branded properties in operation, such as Fiji and Croatia. It's expected the rollout will begin by early next year. 

While no further details were announced as to how Mr. and Mrs. Smith properties will be treated in comparison to current Hyatt-branded hotels, it's a platform that is fully owned by Hyatt.

That's unlike Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), one of the more unique - and frankly, overlooked - partnerships that Hyatt currently has.

While not a brand in the traditional sense, SLH is a collection of boutiques that offer elevated amenities for all World of Hyatt members, even those who don't have elite status. 

"We own the Mr. and Mrs. Smith platform so we'll be able to integrate it more than Small Luxury Hotels," Vondrasek confirmed.