Hyatt targets the global wellness tourism market

Hyatt Hotels has acquired spa operator Miraval for $215 million in an attempt to target the global wellness tourism market.

Hyatt Hotels has bought wellness resort and spa operator Miraval from KSL Capital Partners for $215 million, to target the global wellness tourism industry and its high-end travellers.

Miraval will become the new wellness brand within the Hyatt portfolio. Hyatt plans to spend an additional $160 million to expand and redevelop Miraval’s resorts, which include its flagship property in Tucson, Arizona, as well as the recently acquired Travaasa Resort in Austin, Texas, and the Cranwell Spa & Golf Resort in Lenox, Massachusetts.

The deal also includes Miraval’s Life in Balance Spa brand, which opened its first location in California in 2016.

While Miraval will operate as a separate business unit under Hyatt, its spa and other services may be integrated into some of Hyatt’s 650 hotels.

Celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey and Mel Gibson, and the affluent have been retreating to Miraval Tucson for more than 20 years, for innovative mind and body classes. Miraval also runs a famous horse therapy program, Equine Experience, where participants learn to deal with trauma or anxiety through taking care of horses.