In the past, I’ve written about the upcoming 147-room Thompson Miami Beach, which was supposed to open in a matter of weeks. Thompson is one of Hyatt’s lifestyle brands, and it has been growing at a fast pace. However, something has mysteriously changed with the upcoming property.
In this post:
Hyatt cut ties with Thompson Miami Beach
Up until recently, the Thompson Miami Beach was accepting reservations for stays as of October 2025. However, if you go to Hyatt’s website now, you’ll see no mention of the hotel. A Hyatt spokesperson has confirmed with me that the hotel is no longer affiliated with the brand:
Thompson Miami Beach, which has not yet opened, is no longer affiliated with the Thompson Hotels brand or Hyatt. At this time, we do not have information regarding the hotel owner’s plans for the hotel, including whether or when the hotel will open or its brand affiliation, and we are working with the owner to ensure a smooth transition for future guests and colleagues.
As a result of this brand termination, future reservations cannot be honored, and confirmed reservations will be cancelled at no penalty. We are working to notify affected guests and customers of this situation and assist them with alternative arrangements. Guests with questions regarding stays at the hotel and World of Hyatt members with future reservations for award nights should contact Hyatt’s Global Care Centers at 1-888-848-9496 for U.S. guests or 1-402-952-1131 for guests outside the U.S.
For bookings made via online travel agents or other third parties, guests may contact their booking provider for information on their policies and for assistance.
I’ve gotta say, it’s disappointing how hotel groups don’t honor rates in any form when situations like this happen. We book with a major hotel group not because we even know who the owner of the property is, but instead, because of the property’s branding and loyalty program.
So it’s frustrating that there’s no offer to automatically accommodate people at another property, like the newly opened Andaz Miami Beach, without it repricing.
This is a mighty unusual hotel situation
It’s always exciting when the major hotel brands announce new properties. I don’t typically put much weight into the timeline with which hotels open, since they’re seemingly delayed more often than not. Also, the further a hotel is from opening, the less weight I put into the branding, as it’s not uncommon to see disputes between the hotel owners and the hotel brands, etc.
However, seeing a hotel lose its branding just weeks before opening is something rather unusual. It’s one thing if the opening were just delayed, but here we’re seeing the hotel no longer affiliated with Hyatt weeks before opening. At this point, the hotel has a general manager, Thompson signs have been put up, etc.
I have to imagine that this involves some sort of major dispute between the two parties, or some other legal issue, or else we wouldn’t see a rebranding so late. If anyone has the scoop, please do let us know!
As much as Thompson has been a fast growing chain, it has definitely suffered some setbacks in recent times. The Thompson Hollywood recently rebranded over a proximity dispute (since Hyatt acquired Dream Hotel Group, and there’s a Dream nearby). Furthermore, as of October 1, 2025, the Thompson Atlanta will transition to a different (unknown) brand.
So yeah, in a matter of weeks, we’ll have three fewer Thompson properties in the United States than expected.
Bottom line
The Thompson Miami Beach will no longer be opening in October 2025, and will no longer be affiliated with Hyatt. While it’s not unusual to see hotels rebrand before opening, seeing it happen so close to the planned opening (when signage has already been installed) is something I’ve never seen before. I’m curious what’s going on here…
What do you make of Hyatt and the Thompson Miami Beach cutting ties so shortly before opening?
Yeah, it's a rough time for the Thompson brand. Thompson Rome is on shaky ground and Hyatt might be losing Thompson Dallas.
Thompson Atlanta website reads this:
"IMPORTANT HOTEL NOTIFICATION
Effective 12:01 a.m. local time October 1, 2025, Thompson Atlanta – Buckhead will transition to a hotel brand outside of the Hyatt portfolio and is expected to honor all paid reservations. Guests with questions regarding stays at the hotel October 1 and beyond and World of Hyatt members with reservations for award nights October 1 and beyond should contact Hyatt’s Global Care Center at 1-888-848-9496 for U.S....
Thompson Atlanta website reads this:
"IMPORTANT HOTEL NOTIFICATION
Effective 12:01 a.m. local time October 1, 2025, Thompson Atlanta – Buckhead will transition to a hotel brand outside of the Hyatt portfolio and is expected to honor all paid reservations. Guests with questions regarding stays at the hotel October 1 and beyond and World of Hyatt members with reservations for award nights October 1 and beyond should contact Hyatt’s Global Care Center at 1-888-848-9496 for U.S. guests or 1-402-952-1131 for guests outside the U.S. For bookings made via online travel agents or other third parties, guests may contact their booking provider for information on their policies and for assistance."
For a hotel owner - a brand is supposed to deliver higher cash room rates, higher occupancy and lower distribution costs relative to an online travel agency. In today's hotel market, occupancy and higher prices are just harder to come by than many expected. So you can end up losing money in a brand like Hyatt, where elites are expensive to service. Marriott is out there explicitly saying they will cut costs by making elites less costly to have in the hotel. Combine that with a lot of competition within brand families, and you end up with switches.
In terms of this Thompson Miami situation, it looks like the owner may have been in financial trouble for a while. Plus this property will have to compete with the new Andaz, which has gotten off to a slow start
I would bet money that the owner was trying to pull some typical South Florida nonsense on Hyatt -- including playing games on award availability, etc. -- and Hyatt wisely decided to pull the plug on the hotel's membership in the program
Per a Reddit thread, the Atlanta Thompson will switch to Marriott as an Autograph Collection property.
If true that's too bad... It dropped from a Cat 5 to a Cat 4 and was a good option for FNC liquidation. A lot of local and burbs people come to Buckhead on the weekend to party and that seems to be crowd here now.
I have stayed there a handful of times since it opened and the F&B has gone downhill in the last year. F&B was being contracted to a local well...
If true that's too bad... It dropped from a Cat 5 to a Cat 4 and was a good option for FNC liquidation. A lot of local and burbs people come to Buckhead on the weekend to party and that seems to be crowd here now.
I have stayed there a handful of times since it opened and the F&B has gone downhill in the last year. F&B was being contracted to a local well known chef. After he pulled out it went subpar for the Thompson brand.
It's currently an Amex FHR property as well. It will be interesting to see of that changes under a new flag.