Another one bites the dust: Hyatt swoops for Mr & Mrs Smith

Another independent travel organisation has been snapped up by one of the big guys - although that is not the way they will spin it.

Hyatt Hotels is to buy the Mrs & Mrs Smith curated hotel booking platform, taking a 100% stake, Travel Mole reports.

Founded in 2003 by James and Tamara Lohan (above), Mr & Mrs Smith sells bookings for a collection of around 1,500 boutique and luxury hotels and resorts.

Hyatt says the deal will double its access to boutique and luxury hotels globally and it will employ over 100 Mr & Mrs Smith employees in its commercial services team, including the founders.

“We are excited by this planned acquisition and bringing World of Hyatt members even more global luxury offerings,” Hyatt said.

The Mr & Mrs Smith portfolio includes properties in over 20 countries where Hyatt has no presence.

Co-founder Tamara Lohan said she was "very excited to share the news that Hyatt Hotels Corporation is planning to acquire Mr & Mrs Smith."

She added: "20 years ago, James Lohan MBE and I were told we were crazy - that the world didn’t need another travel guide, that we’d never find a distributor or make a success out of hotel curation if we insisted on such rigorous standards. Sending reviewer couples out to make sure each and every hotel was perfect? Nuts! They said.

"Back then, we didn’t know how to publish a book, build a website or run a 24/7 travel team. We weren’t sure how to raise money or recruit a team of curators to seek out the very best hotels around the world. 

"We made it up as we went along, made plenty of mistakes, picked ourselves back up, and carried on. There have been times when things have been very challenging indeed, but we’ve always been able to adapt and survive - and now those two decades of working, learning and winging it have paid off."

The sale price is reported as being around $US66 million.