Hyatt announced this week that Tamara Lohan has been appointed the interim global brand leader for the company's luxury division, a move that underscores the company’s sharpened focus on growing and differentiating its luxury portfolio. Hotel Management's sister publication Luxury Travel Advisor sat down with Lohan for her first interview in the role at ILTM Cannes just hours after the news was released.
The appointment arrives as Hyatt’s luxury footprint expands at a pace unmatched in the company’s history. Hyatt now counts nearly 125 luxury hotels worldwide with more than 170 in the pipeline. Lohan, who joined the company following Hyatt’s $66 million acquisition of Mr & Mrs Smith in 2023, will guide the strategy and guest experience standards across Park Hyatt, Alila, Miraval and The Unbound Collection by Hyatt.
Her mandate is not to scale uniformity — quite the opposite, in fact.
“Luxury is personal,” she said. “My luxury is different from your luxury. It depends on why you’re traveling, the mode you’re in and the generosity of the service.”
Rather than standardizing a single global vision of luxury, Lohan aims to strengthen the signature traits of each brand.
“When you’re in an Alila, you should know you’re in an Alila," she said. "When you’re in a Miraval, the experience is completely different.”
Her framework is operational and philosophy driven: Alila emphasizes place, culture and environmentally rooted design. Miraval serves as a wellbeing retreat centered on intention and personalization. Park Hyatt is quiet, residential luxury in major global cities. The Unbound Collection by Hyatt champions narrative-rich, character-forward independent hotels. The division also includes Impression by Secrets, the most luxurious all-inclusive resort offering by Hyatt (and a repeat winner of LTA's Most Instagrammable Hotel in the World contest).
It’s an approach directly informed by her two decades building the design-focused Mr & Mrs Smith portfolio. Hyatt, she said, offers an opportunity to apply that ethos at scale without replicating sameness.
Pipeline Momentum: Big Bets Across Park Hyatt and Miraval
Hyatt’s development pipeline puts that philosophy to the test. Miraval will open internationally for the first time in 2026 with the debut of Miraval The Red Sea on Saudi Arabia’s Shura Island. The adults-only property will feature 180 guest rooms, immersive programming and a 40,000-square-foot spa.
Park Hyatt is entering a global expansion cycle with high-profile openings in Cabo del Sol, Cancun, Mexico City, Vancouver and Phu Quoc, along with the much-anticipated reopening of Park Hyatt Tokyo. Lohan acknowledged the pressure surrounding the Tokyo project of "Lost in Translation" fame.
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