While this is a niche opportunity, this is bad news for those who might have been considering an adventurous cruise…
In this post:
Hyatt & Lindblad partnership ending December 31, 2023
Since 2019, Hyatt and Lindblad Expeditions have had a unique partnership. For those not familiar, Lindblad Expeditions is a cruise line that collaborates with National Geographic, and offers cruises that have a focus on adventure travel experiences.
With this partnership, World of Hyatt members could be rewarded when booking Lindblad Expeditions cruises through Hyatt channels. You could earn World of Hyatt points and elite nights, and even receive extra perks.
Given how expensive Lindblad Expeditions cruises are, in some cases you could easily earn World of Hyatt Globalist status with just one cruise (since you’d earn 100K base points for $20K of spending).
Unfortunately there’s some bad news on this front. As of December 31, 2023, the two parties are cutting ties, in what they describe as a mutual decision. As of the beginning of 2024, it will no longer be possible to make new reservations through Hyatt for Lindblad Expeditions voyages.
Existing paid reservations booked prior to that deadline will remain eligible for all perks, assuming the cruise is completed by December 31, 2024.
This development comes just shortly after the partnership between World of Hyatt and MGM Rewards was discontinued.
I’m curious what prompted this partnership to end
The partnership between World of Hyatt and Lindblad Expeditions was unique. While it presumably wasn’t used by that many people, I imagine those who used the partnership benefited from it greatly.
Presumably the business arrangement here was that Hyatt was essentially acting as the equivalent of a travel agency for these cruises, and was getting a commission for booking them. Then Hyatt was essentially giving members a kickback, in the form of points, elite nights, and more.
The way I view it, there are several possible explanations for this partnership being cut:
- Was the volume of bookings just so low that Hyatt decided it’s no longer worth it?
- Was Hyatt getting a big cut on these bookings, and Lindblad Expeditions just wasn’t seeing much incremental business?
- Did this just prove to be more trouble than its worth, with people not understanding that the booking needs to be made through a Hyatt channel to qualify for this?
- Is Lindblad Expeditions pursuing a new partnership with another company, and that requires some level of exclusivity?
As someone who eventually wanted to take a Lindblad Expeditions voyage, this is certainly a bummer…
Bottom line
World of Hyatt and Lindblad Expeditions will be cutting ties as of the end of 2023. All existing cruises booked by the end of 2023 for travel through the end of 2024 will qualify as expected.
This was a unique partnership, and it’s a shame to see it end. I’m curious what exactly happened in the background here.
What do you make of the Hyatt & Lindblad Expeditions partnership ending?
I did the same. Took my first cruise EVER, prompted by this partnership and loved it. I was going to do the Galapagos in January 2025 to qualify for another two years as Globalist. I am so very disappointed.
Oh man...disappointing. I took my first Lindblad cruise this year and earned Globalist status from that alone. I'm eyeing one for next year and another for 2026 and was hoping to get even more points from it.
That sucks. I was planning to book a $17-20K cruise in a few years and earn a ton of Hyatt points.
While it intrigued me (a few of the cruises potentially looked interesting), this was also a "Why is this here?" thing in my mind. My guess is that the volume of business was quite low (which would negate even offering a modest cut to Hyatt) and the "Have to book via a Hyatt channel" requirement probably caused a lot of headaches if somebody flubbed that. It was probably just more trouble than it was worth for either of them.
I don’t think it’s a bad thing.
The whole MGM partnership was just a cheap way to devalue/dilute elite status.
And lindblad isn’t a line many people would see themselves paying for/redeeming points for, it’s a very niche cruise line. If we instead lost a Hyatt relationship with celebrity/virgin or MSC, that I could see as a significant loss. Hyatt is adding Mr&Mrs Smith as well as Home Stay properties. Positives in my book.
This is a bummer. We took lindblad expedition in June booked via Hyatt and that single trip renewed my globalist status. Was planning to do same for artic trip in future but without partnership not sure lindblad will be first choice.
Seems the incremental business volume for Hyatt from this and other partnerships was not there. There are benefits from getting rid of "side" activities that demand scarce management attention.
Hyatt seems to be losing alot of partnerships lately....
Was thinking the same thing.