Mr & Mrs Smith Hyatt Launch
The day we have been waiting (what seems like forever) for is finally here. It is Mr & Mrs Smith Hyatt launch day! Spoiler alert, you can go back to bed. In fact, you probably should. Get comfy and doze off. While you're asleep, dream of a better time. A time when Hyatt had SLH (Small Luxury Hotels) as a partner for the foreseeable future and the bookings offered value.
I have to admit, I got this one wrong. Sarah was right to get upset when it was announced that Hyatt was parting ways with SLH. I thought Mr & Mrs Smith would just be a larger, more expansive version of that. One that Hyatt owned and controlled, which would add longevity, and all would be well and good. The reality of it is much, much worse. Mr & Mrs Smith is mostly a way to clog up your World of Hyatt award search feeds, and offer you bad redemption options. Let's get into it.
This Is Not A Full Rollout
We should first make you aware that this Mr & Mrs Smith Hyatt launch is not a full rollout. More properties are to come online, but as with most launches, it will be done in waves. This should help them iron out the kinks and hopefully make the entire process a little less painful. If they convert most of the hotels that were in the Mr & Mrs Smith program before the purchase, then it should be well over 1,000 new addresses in total. It is stated in the press release that over 700 should be available upon initial rollout.
Booking Mrs & Mrs Smith Properties With World of Hyatt
With this new partnership you should be able to book any hotel room available with your hard earned World of Hyatt points. That sounds amazing at first glance, doesn't it? No more dealing with the hotels playing games with saver award space etc. After reading this you may be thinking that there must be a catch, right?
You would be correct, there is. It comes in the form of dynamic pricing. Yes, that familiar dirty word. Mr & Mrs Smith properties will work differently than the SLH properties did, and will live outside of the World of Hyatt award chart. That means that the cost of the room will be tied to the cash price, which is not great for us. This is similar to what Hyatt recently did with their Destinations by Hyatt condo properties, when they pulled them from the traditional award chart and made the bookings dynamic.
Mr & Mrs Smith Hyatt Launch: What Value Do Your Hyatt Points Get?
This is where it gets a little strange. Since the Mr & Mrs Smith Hyatt booking system is based on dynamic pricing, you would expect the value you get for your World of Hyatt points to be a set rate. The cost for the room would fluctuate based solely on the price of the room. That isn't quite how it works though. We saw pricing all over the place in terms of cent per point values on redemptions. They dropped as low as 1 cent and worked their way up to close to 1.3ish cents.
What do you notice about both of those numbers? They are well below what you would normally get at a Hyatt hotel. It is safe to say that Mr & Mrs Smith is not a good option for points redemptions most of the time.
Can You Use Free Night Certificates?
Since the prices are dynamic you can not use your free night certificates at Mr & Mrs Smith properties either.
Mr & Mrs Smith Hyatt Launch: Searching Mr & Mrs Smith Properties
The easiest way to search Mr & Mrs Smith properties, after the Hyatt launch, is via Hyatt's map search feature. This is useful for searching all Hyatt properties actually, or for a specific brand. You just need to go to the filter and select Mr & Mrs Smith properties and then you can scroll around on the map.
Points Earning At Mr & Mrs Smith
On cash booking side of things it is run just like standard World of Hyatt bookings.
- Earn 5 points per dollar (base earning)
- Get bonus points for the stay based on your status level
- Earn elite night credits for the stay
Brand Explorer Perk
A nice side benefit of the Mr & Mrs Smith Hyatt launch is that Mr & Mrs Smith is a part of the World of Hyatt Brand Explorer perk. That should make earning your next free night a little bit easier, assuming you find a decent cash rate at least.
What Do Hyatt Elites Get During Mr & Mrs Smith Stays?
Not much. While SLH gave all Hyatt members special perks on stays, there isn't anything all that special for World of Hyatt members. Globalist World of Hyatt elites will get upgrades at the time of check in, if available.
Every Mr & Mrs Smith hotel does have a unique Smith Extra, but that is for any guest staying at a property. What that is will depend on which hotel you are staying at.
Mr & Mrs Smith Hyatt Launch: ToP Thoughts
To say I am a bit depressed by this would be an understatement. I figured the Mr & Mrs Smith Hyatt launch would be run similar to the SLH partnership. Heck, maybe even better because Hyatt actually owns the dang thing. I was also excited to finally have a Hyatt option downtown Detroit that I could book with my points. All of those hopes and dreams were dashed in an instant.
Now I am left with the sole positive of having one more brand as an option for the Hyatt Brand Explorer perk. I will say that this gives Hilton a huge opportunity while taking over SLH. If they roll it out with similar pricing to their own hotels, it will be a big plus for travelers. It will make me value Hilton points a little more. That is noticeable since I now value Hyatt a little less with the loss of SLH, and this below average addition.
Let me know your thoughts about the Mr & Mrs Smith Hyatt launch over in the ToP Facebook Group.
