Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Sold To MGM, But Maintaining Marriott Affiliation

The acquisition of the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas was announced in September of 2021. A major update about whether this hotel will be affiliated with Marriott or Hyatt going forward is based on a Nevada Gaming Board meeting this week.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas sold to MGM

In September of 2021, it was revealed that MGM was involved in the sale of the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas.

• Blackstone sold the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas for $5.65 billion, which is quite an ROI, as the company purchased the property for $1.74 billion in 2014
• MGM Resorts International (already the largest operator on the Strip) is involved in the deal — MGM is paying $1.6 billion to purchase the hotel and casino operating rights, and then some other investment firms are paying $4 billion for the property assets
• The transaction is expected to close in the coming weeks

One of the best mega-properties on the strip is the Cosmopolitan. It has over 3000 rooms. In the second quarter of 2021, financial performance was better than pre-coronaviruses, but that hasn't been the case at the hotel.

Will Cosmopolitan leave Marriott Bonvoy, join World of Hyatt?

The implications that this deal has for major hotel loyalty programs is the reason that many of us were interested in it. The Marriott Autograph Collection has a property called the Cosmopolitan. Marriott has an advantage since the property more or less participates in the Marriott Bonvoy program.

Many of us wondered if the Cosmopolitan would cut ties with Marriott after the deal was announced. There is a special partnership between M Life and World of Hyatt, and MGM Resorts International has its own loyalty program.

While World of Hyatt members don't receive the same perks in Las Vegas that they would receive if they stayed directly at Hyatts, they have the opportunity to earn and redeem points and take advantage of perks.

Many of us assumed that the Cosmopolitan would leave Marriott Bonvoy and join MGM M Life. That isn't how things are playing out. Even after the sale closes, the Cosmopolitan will continue to be affiliated with Marriott.

• On the one hand this makes sense, since Marriott has huge global distribution power, and presumably Marriott’s booking channels fill a lot of rooms at this hotel
• It’s still interesting to me that MGM would acquire this property and then not at all merge it into its M Life loyalty program; who knows, maybe there will be some kind of a hybrid approach

We should not expect World of Hyatt members to get any value from this deal.

MGM will take over management of the hotel and casino after it was sold. The Las Vegas hotel and casino scene is undergoing a major change.

There were questions about whether the hotel would join MGM's loyalty program, which has a partnership with Hyatt. The decision has been made for this hotel to remain a Marriott. We will see if that plan sticks around in the long run, but right now it is where things stand.

What do you think about this update?