CHICAGO—Hyatt Hotels has selected Mia Kyricos, an executive with a wealth of experience in the health and wellness hospitality sector, as SVP, global head of well-being.
“As a pioneer in the business of well-being, Mia is uniquely qualified to further define Hyatt’s well-being efforts across all 14 brands to ensure colleagues, guests and customers can be their best,” said Mark Vondrasek, Hyatt’s chief commercial officer. “She is a respected leader in the well-being industry and her expertise across wellness, hospitality and brand strategy will fervently support and expand Hyatt’s already robust well-being offering. Mia will also be instrumental in the continued immersion of World of Hyatt members to the Miraval and Exhale brands, as well as the integration of elements of both these brands throughout the organization.”
Most recently, Kyricos served as president/CEO of Kyricos & Associates LLC, a boutique advisory firm providing guidance to wellness-driven hospitality, tourism and healthy lifestyle companies. Prior to that, she was chief brand officer at Spafinder Wellness Inc., where she co-founded the Wellness Travel Awards program, which was previously issued annually across 40 countries at the World Travel Market.
She has also held leadership roles at Core Performance, the workplace wellness division of EXOS, and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, where she created six international spa brands and signature wellness experiences.
Kyricos sits on the advisory boards of the Global Wellness Summit, Wellness for Cancer and The University of California Irvine. She also chairs the Wellness Communities Initiative on behalf of the Global Wellness Institute, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational foundation that she helped to found.
“This is the first time I’ve seen a company of any kind create a senior leadership position to oversee the global strategy of wellness-related products and services in the marketplace, as well as the well-being of its colleagues,” she told Hotel Business. “It’s a game-changer for both hospitality and big business at large. I therefore plan on using my expertise to help the team bring Hyatt’s visions for well-being to life.”
Kyricos sees the importance of hotel brands offering guests health and wellness options. “On one hand, health and wellness has clearly become a growing priority for consumers today that spans generations and geographies. On the other hand, not every brand is ideally suited or even positioned to offer it, and this is true outside of the world of hospitality as well,” she said.
She views health and wellness as being at the core of what Hyatt does. “At Hyatt, well-being is the ultimate realization of our purpose—we care for people so they can be at their best. It may sound simple, but to us, this is a true calling that extends well beyond what happens in certain segments of our business—like spa, fitness, food and beverage or even our formidable wellness brands like Miraval and Exhale—and puts each individual guest, colleague, customer or partner, at the core of what we do every day,” she said.
Her approach to her new position will be unlike any other she has had before. “Caring for people’s well-being is core to who we are as a company, so to me, our approach needs to be more about the DNA of our family of brands versus branded products, services and programs, although you can expect a healthy mix of both over time,” said Kyricos. “What’s most compelling to me is that Hyatt has already clearly signaled that it’s serious about well-being via its acquisitions of Miraval Resorts & Spa and Exhale and their ongoing expansions, the World of Hyatt Credit Card, which rewards cardmembers for focusing on well-being practices through a new fitness club and gym membership Bonus category, and its new Find experiences platform designed to serve up well-being-focused experiences for eligible World of Hyatt members. Obviously, we still have much to do, but Hyatt has taken these steps to build credibility and earn trust from our guests and colleagues—and I can’t wait to help take its efforts to the next level together.”