LOS ANGELES—Vowing to have at least 15 properties “open and operating” by this summer, Hyatt Hotels Corporation President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian introduced the company’s Hyatt Centric brand during a reception held in conjunction with the Americas Lodging Investment Summit.
Hoplamazian said Hyatt listened to “a very important group of travelers—those looking for an experience that we feel we can fulfill in a very deliberate and powerful way.” The result is a full-service lifestyle brand designed for business and leisure travelers.
Called “modern explorers,” those travelers are a multigenerational group comprised of people who view their hotel as more than a place to stay, according to a news release. Rather, the hotel is the hub of their experience, connecting them to unique experiences, the best of what the destination has to offer: experiences that lead to great stories.
The brand’s website revealed a list of properties to be open this summer, including: Long Beach, California; San Francisco; Santa Barbara, California; Key West, Florida; Miami; Atlanta; Chicago; New York City; Houston; Park City, Utah; Washington, D.C.; and Paris. Hoplamazian said the
properties will be a mix of owned, managed and franchised assets.
John T. Murphy, president of Chicago-based Murphy Development Corporation, said his firm is developing the property at 100 West Monroe Street in the Windy City—less than two blocks from Hyatt’s global headquarters.
“It’s a lifestyle experience so many of (Hyatt’s) members and guests are looking for,” said Murphy, who has four hotels under development, including a 274-room Holiday Inn on the Cleveland Clinic campus in Cleveland. “It has the power of the Hyatt brand behind it, and it will have consistency from city to city. It’s an excellent urban in-fill opportunity. It’s all about a centrally located, 4-star, full-service offering.”
Hoplamazian stressed the importance of location in Hyatt Centric’s development, saying several times the brand’s properties will be located at the center of a destination. The company didn’t reveal information regarding the number of rooms, or details of the rooms, in a Hyatt Centric property.
The news release said the brand will feature a smaller room count and efficient meeting and event spaces to allow for optimized staffing and distribution, and reduce logistics for group business.
Hyatt Centric joins a lineup of 11 other brands in the Hyatt portfolio, including: Hyatt, Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Hyatt Zilara, Hyatt Ziva, Hyatt Residences and Hyatt Residence Club. As of 30 September 2014, the company's worldwide portfolio consisted of 573 properties in 48 countries.
Guest ‘centric’
The Hyatt Centric name was inspired by the brand’s mission of putting its guest at the center of the action in the best destinations. It will focus on three core elements, according to the news release:
- an authentic entryway to the destination that will offer a unique and modern take on its location;
- a focus on a simplistic, thoughtfully crafted welcoming environment that delivers the essentials in the easiest, most streamlined way possible; and
- a human touch in a digital world that will offer a balance of advanced digital capabilities with the understanding that these experiences are more beneficial when combined with a human touch.
“The process that we followed to create this new brand is something that has worked really well for us over the last several years,” Hoplamazian said. “It requires very intensive engagement with owners, developers, partners, our team members of course, and maybe most critically, guests—lots of guests.”
Hoplamazian said expectations for Hyatt include providing a compelling brand experience and many opportunities for growth.
“We’ve launched a number of brands over the last several years, and we’ve brought each one of them to life in a very unique way,” Hoplamazian
said. “There are so many markets around the world in which we remain underrepresented, and this brand will allow to penetrate more of these interesting areas within key cities in key destinations.”
The CEO said Gold Passport, the company’s guest-loyalty program, and group business opportunities will play major roles in the growth of the Hyatt Centric brand.
“We will throw our full support behind the success of the brand through, of course, our loyalty program Gold Passport, … our global sales effort and also group sales because we will be working on creating very effective, very creative meeting spaces for this particular customer base that will also maximize the potential of these properties,” Hoplamazian said.
Specific features of the brand include: an open-concept lounge; “eclectic” accommodations that include free wireless Internet access; an area to work, play and socialize called The Corner; a local bar and restaurant; and a health studio for fitness.