Dive Brief:
- Guests can now book nearly 400 properties from the Small Luxury Hotels of the World collection via Hilton’s channels and the Hilton Honors app, the hotel company announced Tuesday.
- Hilton previously announced its partnership with SLH in February, when CEO Chris Nassetta said it had the potential to grow Hilton’s “150-, 160-hotel luxury portfolio and turn it into six or seven hundred.”
- Chris Silcock, Hilton’s president of global brands and commercial services, said the added SLH properties will be “highly complementary” to the company’s growing luxury portfolio.
Dive Insight:
SLH previously partnered with Hyatt. That partnership ended shortly after Hilton announced its own deal with the luxury hotel collection, in March.
Now, Hilton Honors loyalty members can earn and redeem points for stays at SLH properties, which include city, beach and resort hotels.
“Integrating with Small Luxury Hotels of the World allows us to expand the Hilton stay experience and travel aspirations for all guests, with special opportunities for our loyal Hilton Honors members,” said Silcock, in a statement. “The hundreds of independently minded properties are highly complementary to our renowned luxury portfolio and support Hilton’s ongoing efforts to expand and create distinct, localized travel experiences for our guests.”
In Hilton’s February earnings call, Nassetta said SLH’s portfolio had a “heavy resort orientation,” often in niche markets that “are super hard to get into.” Nearly two-thirds of that portfolio is in Europe, and 20% is in the Americas, he added.
Hilton has expanded in the luxury segment of late. It acquired the luxury lifestyle brand NoMad in April, with plans to grow it to as many as 100 locations worldwide.
The company has also expanded homegrown brands within its luxury portfolio, including Signia by Hilton, which debuted in Atlanta this year, and Conrad, which opened a property at the 1,000-plus-acre Evermore Orlando Resort.
In McKinsey & Company’s “State of Tourism and Hospitality 2024” report, released in May, travel industry experts said they expect demand for luxury hospitality to grow faster than any other travel segment.
