Teranka Formentera, an SLH Hotel (Source)

In February 2024, Hilton announced plans to launch an exclusive new partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH). Earlier this month, we saw the partnership go live in a very limited capacity. More properties have now been added to this collaboration, though we're still puzzled by the rollout.

Hilton partners with SLH for boutique luxury hotels

Hilton and Small Luxury Hotels of the World are introducing an exclusive strategic partnership, which will allow Hilton Honors members to earn and redeem points at hundreds of boutique luxury properties around the globe. This will greatly expand the luxury properties that Hilton Honors members have access to. In order to earn and redeem points with this partnership, you’ll need to book through Hilton booking channels.

The partnership is being mentioned on Hilton’s website (Source)

For those not familiar with SLH, this is a group of roughly 570 boutique hotels. What makes SLH different than the other major hotel groups is that SLH as such doesn’t manage these properties. Rather, SLH is essentially a community of independent hotels that don’t have any desire to directly join the major hotel groups.

In other words, SLH has a marketing agreement with these hotels, and Hilton is now progressively rolling out a marketing partnership with SLH. These properties won’t fully be integrated into the Hilton portfolio, but rather Hilton will be able to get a commission when people book these properties through Hilton, and in turn, the company will pass on some of that commission to consumers in the form of points.

How the Hilton & SLH partnership works in practice

Hilton and Small Luxury Hotels of the World are slowly kicking off their partnership. This is currently described as an integrated test phase, whereby select properties are bookable through Hilton Honors channels. There are currently 16 hotels participating in the collaboration, and you can find them all on this page.

Nobu Hotel Marbella, an SLH Hotel (Source)

The properties range from Nobu Hotel in Marbella, to Wentworth Mansion in Charleston, to Calala Island in Nicaragua, to Nimb Hotel in Copenhagen. It’s expected that only around 100 properties will join the portfolio before the end of 2024, so this is a slow rollout.

The Hilton & SLH partnership is being rolled out.

Hilton Honors members can take advantage of the following perks when making an eligible SLH booking:

Hilton Honors non-elite members receive a guaranteed member discount, complimentary Wi-Fi, late check-out subject to availability, bottled water, and no resort fees on award stays.

Hilton Honors Silver members receive a 20% points bonus and a fifth night free on award redemptions, in addition to the perks of non-elite members.

Hilton Honors Gold members receive an 80% points bonus, complimentary breakfast for two guests, and space-available upgrades, in addition to the perks of non-elite members.

Hilton Honors Diamond members receive a 100% points bonus, complimentary breakfast for two guests, and space-available upgrades, in addition to the perks of non-elite members.

Hilton Honors members can also earn and redeem points for eligible SLH stays:

When it comes to earning points, Hilton Honors members earn points at the same rate as they would at full-service Hilton properties; this means you earn 10x Honors points per dollar spent, before factoring in any additional bonuses, plus you earn one elite night for each night stayed. When it comes to redeeming points, the exciting thing is that SLH properties will follow the standard system for Hilton Honors award redemptions; SLH properties should top out at 150,000 Honors points per night, and you can also redeem Hilton Honors free night awards at these properties. You can find the Hilton Honors & SLH partnership terms here.

What makes absolutely no sense here is how almost all of these hotels continue to show as sold out. Hilton said it would release limited inventory when this partnership launched, but in reality, just about all properties continue to show “sold out” for all dates.

As it stands, Wentworth Mansion in Charleston is the only hotel where we see any availability. On the plus side, we're happy to see that guaranteed member discount is actually a thing at this hotel. We do indeed see a lower rate on Hilton’s website than directly with the hotel, so that’s a pleasant surprise. Hopefully, it’s true at other properties as well.

The Hyatt & SLH partnership has ended

If the concept of a major global hotel group partnering with Small Luxury Hotels of the World sounds familiar, it’s for good reason. In 2018, Hyatt and SLH launched a partnership, offering points earning and redemption opportunities, as well as select elite perks. However, Hyatt and SLH ended their partnership as of May 2024, which is what makes this new exclusive partnership possible.

Hyatt recently acquired Mr & Mrs Smith, a luxury travel agency that markets select hotels. With this acquisition, we’re seeing Mr & Mrs Smith properties slowly being integrated into Hyatt booking channels. It’s not surprising that the Mr & Mrs Smith acquisition has caused the SLH partnership to end, given the overlap between the concepts, as many hotels belong to both portfolios, and Hyatt has more upside with a company it wholly owns.

We sure are seeing a lot of hotel partnership musical chairs lately. MGM used to partner with Hyatt but now partners with Marriott. IHG used to partner with Mr & Mrs Smith and is now owned by Hyatt. And now SLH has switched from Hyatt to Hilton.

Bottom line

Hilton and Small Luxury Hotels of the World are launching an exclusive collaboration, which comes as Hyatt’s partnership with SLH has ended. We're happy to see the Hilton and SLH partnership finally launching, though the implementation of this sure is taking some time.

On the plus side, we're pretty happy with what we’re seeing so far, especially on the redemption front. We just wish that more properties actually showed as being available. We understand the concept of limited inventory, but right now we're mostly seeing no inventory at all.

This information was first published on onemileatatime.com.