Hyatt Hotels Corporation on Thursday announced it has sold the entirety of its vacation rental management business to Lowe, a real estate investor, developer and manager, at the same time sharing plans for a new short-term vacation rental platform. Homes & Hideaways by World of Hyatt, which is expected in the coming weeks, will include private homes and remote hideaways in the United States—from beachfront escapes to mountainside ski chalets.
The planned launch of Homes & Hideaways by World of Hyatt reinforces Hyatt’s commitment to providing more flexible stay experiences to suit the travel needs of every guest. The focus on the premium vacation rentals segment will allow members to unlock access to residential rental accommodations across the United States in key travel destinations like Hawaii, Colorado and more, with plans to grow the platform globally.
Good to know: Homes & Hideaways by World of Hyatt member benefits will include earning points and tier-qualifying night credits on stays, as well as standard tier bonuses and the ability to redeem points for stays at home rental properties. More locations, more experiences and more opportunities to earn and redeem.
Leading up to the launch of Homes & Hideaways by World of Hyatt, Hyatt identified Lowe to purchase and operate the existing vacation rental management business that is currently branded Destination Residences Management.
The business consists of management agreements for individually owned resort residences across 36 properties in Colorado and Hawaii, as well as many of the properties’ homeowners associations (HOAs). Lowe’s hospitality management subsidiary, CoralTree Hospitality Group, will assume management of the rental units, HOAs and resort properties included in the transaction. The management business, currently known as Destination Residential Management, will be rebranded by Lowe and CoralTree.
According to Lowe, interest in resort residence rental has increased dramatically over recent years, fueled by lifestyle changes, the desire for extended stays and the ability to work remotely from anywhere.
As part of the transaction, Lowe and CoralTree will soon be a key part of Hyatt’s forthcoming new vacation rental offering, Homes & Hideaways by World of Hyatt. The booking platform will provide the ability for the rental residences included in the transaction to be available for booking (standard and award booking) to the 40 million World of Hyatt members.
The transaction will transition management responsibility for more than 1,000 resort rental residences and 27 HOAs in Vail, Aspen/Snowmass and on three islands—Kauai, Hawaii Island and Maui—in Hawaii to Lowe via CoralTree Hospitality Group. Among the services provided will be owner relations and services, accounting and financial services, guest/concierge services, front desk and amenity management, maintenance and capital project oversight, marketing, distribution and pricing, housekeeping and procurement.
In 2018, Lowe sold its hospitality affiliate, Two Roads Hospitality, to Hyatt. That 2018 sale included the Destination Residential Management business that Lowe had built starting in the early 1970s and is now reacquiring as one component of the significantly larger business it sold to Hyatt.
Source : Travel Agent Central
