Hyatt purchased Miraval not because they wanted a standalone wellness resort, but because they want to extend the brand and create an association with wellness across their hotels. They purchased Exhale spas as part of the same strategy.

Hyatt believes that they can be a lifestyle brand, that you’ll want to inhale their vibe even when you’re not staying at their hotels and that you’ll choose their hotels and pay a premium because you associate them with rejuvenating your life. And that is going to make their investment in Miraval and Exhale profitable.

Exhale Spa.. in the Centurion Lounge Dallas Fort-Worth

Their new head of loyalty is also in charge of this integration. World of Hyatt is supposed to be a ‘platform’ for this kind of integration, so it makes sense that Hyatt has hired ex-Starwood executives to run it considering that Starwood was singularly successful at branding a sense of cool and luxury beyond the individual features of their properties.

Hyatt’s six week promotion at the end of 2017 also brought with it two promotions for Exhale spas both still valid through February 28.

• Week of Wellbeing “$30 for a one-week package, includes unlimited fitness classes, 20% off spa therapies, and 10% off wellbeing boutique purchases” at participating locations.
  
• $10 off a fitness class and $25 off a 60 or 90-minute spa therapy at participating locations.

But there were no bonus points offered and I recommended waiting until that changed since it’s clear there would be a loyalty program component to their spa investments. The first bonus offer is here.

Unfortunately they’re only stackable at one Exhale location. The bonus points offer is for New York locations only. The discount offer is valid at specific locations, and the only one in New York participating is in the Flatiron district.

The New York Flatiron exhale is separately offering World of Hyatt members who are new exhale guests a Week of Wellbeing one-week package for $40, which includes unlimited fitness classes and 10% off wellbeing boutique purchases.

Here’s the bonus offer: Through February 15 participating New York Exhale locations will give you:

• 1000 points per fitness class or Week of Wellbeing purchase
  
• 5000 points per massage, facial, or fitness class package purchase
  
• 10,000 points for a monthly membership purchase

If you were going to frequent these spas anyway, this is a great deal. I value Hyatt points at 1.4 cents apiece so they’re effectively offering a $14 discount on fitness classes, which will make them competitive for some.

However the major issue here is how limited the offering is. They need to make their offers valid across locations. There’s no question that business conditions differ, a desire to offer rebates differs based on local conditions, but for this to work Hyatt needs a simple and compelling value proposition that consumers don’t need to scour fine print to understand.

And even if at some level the rebates are more than an individual location needs to offer, the entire purpose of the investment and concept they’re betting on is creating a brand halo across Hyatt and leveraging Hyatt customers’ desire for wellness when they aren’t staying at hotels. To do that they need to overinvest up front since the value proposition isn’t just based on incremental business for an individual spa but the feedback effect they’re betting on. Hunting and pecking terms and conditions for eligible properties, and focusing on only one city even as important as New York, just doesn’t cut it.

Still this is no doubt just the first foray into the effort so I’d expect bonuses to become broader and even more generous at some point.

Terms and conditions:

TERMS & CONDITIONS:
Between 1/5/2018 and 2/15/2018 World of Hyatt members can earn World of Hyatt Bonus Points for eligible experiences purchased at participating exhale locations in New York:
• Earn 1,000 Bonus Points for eligible exhale Fitness Class purchases
• Earn 1,000 Bonus Points for eligible exhale Week of Wellbeing purchases
• Earn 5,000 Bonus Points for eligible exhale Massage or Facial purchases
• Earn 5,000 Bonus Points for eligible exhale Fitness Class Package purchases
• Earn 10,000 Bonus Points for eligible exhale Monthly Membership purchases
Offer valid at participating exhale locations in New York: Central Park South, Upper East Side, Gramercy, Flatiron, Meatpacking, Soho, and Bridgehampton. Purchases must be made directly with exhale and you must present your World of Hyatt membership number upon check-in at exhale. Points awarded under this offer are Bonus Points (not Base Points). Points will be deposited in a member’s account 4-6 weeks after completion of the qualifying experience. Only new Monthly Membership purchases are eligible to earn points. Only the member purchasing the experiences will earn points for the purchase. Points for one transaction cannot be allocated to more than one member, even if more than one member participates in the experiences. Members purchasing an experience on someone else’s behalf can earn points for all eligible transactions for which they pay. Membership is required at the time of purchase to earn points (membership is free and available at www.worldofhyatt.com). If points are not properly credited, contact Hyatt customer service within 60 days of the experiences. Offer is subject to availability. Exhale may alter or withdraw this offer at any time without notice. Visit exhalespa.com/bonuspoints for additional details.