NEW YORK — Fresh off of the closed acquisition of Playa Hotels & Resorts and a new brand launch, Hyatt Hotels Corp. has growth plans for its loyalty program.
Laurie Blair, senior vice president of global marketing at Hyatt, said in a video interview at the recent NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum that the World of Hyatt membership is at over 56 million members and growing.
"We're not slowing down," she said. "We continue to grow our brand portfolio, which gives our members more access to brands and [they] get to experience everything from lifestyle and luxury all the way through to our classics and essentials brands, and, of course, our all-inclusive portfolio as well."
Hyatt's all-inclusive portfolio recently grew with the closing of $2.6 billion deal to acquire Playa Hotels & Resorts and 15 of its properties in Caribbean and Latin American markets.
Lately, Hyatt is also looking at what it can offer members that goes beyond redeeming points for stays, Blair said.
"World of Hyatt is really leaning in also on experiences, so going truly beyond the transactional nature of a traditional loyalty program and leaning into what really makes Hyatt and World of Hyatt special," she said.
In May, Hyatt announced a new brand — Unscripted by Hyatt — as a part of its Hyatt Essentials portfolio. Unscripted is designed to target adaptive-reuse and conversion properties. In the announcement about the new brand, Hyatt revealed that 40 hotels in are in "active discussions" to join.
"It is a soft brand for us, which is a great way for owners who have individual, distinct properties with more operational efficiency to come into the Hyatt network, get all of the benefits of World of Hyatt and our amazing member base, as well as all of the commercial services that Hyatt provides," Blair said.
"We have a real opportunity in the upscale space, and so this is an opening and a new positioning opportunity for us as Hyatt," she added.
For more from the interview with Hyatt's Laurie Blair, watch the video embedded above.