Tl;dr – SLH left Hyatt and joined Hilton. Hyatt ran into the arms of Mr & Mrs Smith. Us travelers? We’re left picking up the pieces and sorting it all out.
I was doing some research into the Dublin hotel market, and I came across something rather interesting. A boutique hotel, The Wilder Townhouse, is bookable on two major chains’ platforms – Hilton and Hyatt – at the same time.
Here’s the same exact room available on each chain’s website:
Hyatt:
Hilton:
A Multi-Party Love Affair
Why is this the case? Because The Wilder is both an SLH and a Mr & Mrs Smith property.
Notably, last year the Hyatt/SLH partnership ended, and Hilton scooped up SLH on the rebound. Hyatt then went down to the local disco and found new love with Mr & Mrs Smith.
This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this – not just in the Dublin market – but in many other places around the world. As such, I thought it worth bringing attention to. While it’s not uncommon for independent hotels (especially in the heyday of the soft-brand and luxury hotel alliance) to belong to many different associations, it is pretty interesting to see a single property bookable through two (or more) of the major global hotel chains at the same time, in the same market. Hilton and Hyatt are undoubtedly direct competitors.
Whose Arms To Run In To?
So, the big question you might be asking is: which platform should you use to book this property? You should answer this question on a case-by-case basis. Somethings to consider are: 1) the benefits you’ll receive (if any); 2) if you’re redeeming points – the cost per point you’re getting on the redemption and the immediate opportunity cost to using those points at the given property as opposed to a property for another imminent stay; 3) if paying cash – the cash rate of the property.
In this case, I’d probably book this property with Hilton, though as Hilton’s integration with SLH is much further along than Hyatt’s integration with Mr & Mrs Smith. Top-tier Hilton Honor elites receive breakfast at some SLH properties, as well as room upgrades, and evidently, the breakfast at The Wilder is super strong.
Additionally, if you’re planning to pay the cash rate, the member rate advertised on Hilton is slightly lower than that on Hyatt. For a redemption, it’s not a 1:1 here as the cheapest Hilton redemption rate (70,000 points) requires you to switch to a different category room, the property’s smallest room – The Shoebox.
Still, given that Hyatt points are a bit more valuable (and harder to come by) if I had the necessary amount in each program, I’d probably stash those Hyatt points and book the smaller room on Hilton.
Might Things Get Even Freakier?
I just know there’s a reader out there saying – ‘Why stop there? Might we not make this a foursome? What if…gasp! There’s a property that’s both part of Mr & Mrs Smith, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, and is also a Design Hotel.’ That would potentially make this property bookable on Hyatt, Hilton, and Marriott all at the same time.
Wild, I know.
