Hyatt and Oasis collaboration meets customer need

Hyatt Hotels Corporation’s Unbound Collection has formally collaborated with home-sharing platform Oasis by extending its World of Hyatt loyalty program, and Hyatt is on track to meeting the needs of its high-end travelers, officials say.
•MORE: Hyatt values quality over quantity with Unbound

Last July, Hyatt made an undisclosed minority investment in the home-sharing company. Now its 2,200 homes in 22 cities will be bookable on Hyatt channels as part of the company’s Unbound Collection soft brand, and Hyatt’s loyalty program will extend to it.

For the Unbound Collection, which has a focus on “moving outside of the traditional hotels,” the collaboration was a “logical fit,” said Amy Weinberg, SVP, World of Hyatt loyalty program.

Guests can book properties on both Hyatt and Oasis channels. “That’s better for each of us when it comes to that member benefit,” Weinberg said.

While Oasis properties will be considered part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection, they won’t add any Hyatt branding to their names.

In demand
Weinberg said Hyatt data shows that guests more and more are looking for cross-generational travel and want accommodations to suit that.

“We see (Oasis properties) as a great extension for our members when they want more space or they have a longer trip planned (and) to have the opportunity to (stay) in the Hyatt program and portfolio and gain the benefits of World of Hyatt,” she said.

Change is so constant in this space, too, she said, and Hyatt is always looking for partners to further meet the needs of its high-end travelers.

Increasing awareness for both
Parker Stanberry, co-founder and CEO of Oasis, said he hopes the collaboration will bring more awareness to both companies.

“There’s probably Hyatt customers who would be great Oasis customers and might not know about Oasis yet,” he said. But on the other hand, “It would also attract new (Hyatt) members as well” if the customer is more of a sharing-economy loyalist and isn’t familiar with Hyatt.

He also hopes partnering with Hyatt and its Unbound Collection will bring more credibility to the smaller and younger Oasis brand.

“Being part of one of the only alternative-accommodation options that is formally integrated into a hotel loyalty program is another competitive advantage for us that’s really going to make us stand out versus other players in the space,” Stanberry said.

Weinberg said giving guests the opportunity to explore more markets than what Hyatt hotels currently offer is exciting for the company.

Stanberry said the goal is for Oasis to grow its presence from 22 cities to 50 or more cities within the next two years.

Markets where Oasis sees the most demand, but Hyatt is not yet present in, are Barcelona and Latin America—where Oasis was founded, Stanberry said. And the Asia-Pacific region is a market where Hyatt’s footprint has been established but Oasis’ has not.

Through the collaboration, he said, he hopes to grow in cities like Hong Kong and Sydney.

Why Hyatt and Oasis mesh
Both Stanberry and Weinberg agreed Oasis and Hyatt share many of the same attributes of guest service.

“Being able to integrate and bring something like this to the market in the seven months since we first started working together is pretty fast, all things considered,” Stanberry said. “I think that speaks to the teams … being on the same page, being able to push this out there relatively quickly.”

Stanberry said Oasis’ fundamental premise has always been to bring hotel-like services and offerings into the world of alternative accommodations, such as standardized amenities, and he hopes the Hyatt collaboration will lead to new ideas.

“(We’ll) look at different things we can bring to the table, whether it’s around more operational efficiencies, whether it’s more about even taking our amenities to the next level … that’s definitely something we’ll be working on,” he said.