CHICAGO—Hyatt Place unveiled a new generation of hotels focused on three areas: thoughtful design, driving value for World of Hyatt members and enhanced well-being experiences. The move is a response to guests’ and owners’ evolving needs, while building on the Hyatt Place brand.
“The new generation of Hyatt Place hotels are intended to further strengthen the overall Hyatt Place portfolio and expand our opportunities to work with world-class developers and operators, while also providing flexibility and support to our existing owners,” said Jim Chu, global head of development and owner relations, Hyatt. “We are keeping the brand relevant and fresh by focusing on giving our guests more customization and control during their travels, developing deeper relationships with our World of Hyatt members and personalized well-being experiences for our guests. By evolving and elevating the brand’s offerings, we believe that we will create a best-in-class experience that will truly redefine the select-service category, just as we did 12 years ago when we launched the Hyatt Place brand.”
The company used direct owner and guest input led us to reimagine the brand. “We continue to have not only ongoing experiences and dialogue with our guests, listen to what they say and watch what they experience at our hotels, and that along with our advisory of our owners, we’ve looked at how we will continue to make improvements with the hotels and the direction that we go relative to our product, our well-being offering and our World of Hyatt engagement with the hotels,” Chu told Hotel Business in an interview at the NYU Conference “That ongoing experience that we continue to draw upon them led us to a new Hyatt Place offering. It was no one piece of the feedback, it is the ongoing conversation that gives you direction on what to do.
The new generation will focus on the following aspects:
Design
The Hyatt Place brand is evolving and elevating the in-hotel experience by emphasizing guest customization, control and connection:
- Guestroom Evolution: Guests have come to know and rely on the seamlessness and efficiency of Hyatt Place guestrooms. True to the brand’s commitment to research and constant innovation, the new Hyatt Place guestroom will evolve in a new, thoughtful way:
- Purposeful furniture designed to keep guests organized and productive
- Elements to promote well-being, including a premium mattress, blackout shades and warm-colored lighting to enhance sleep quality
- Distinct zones to sleep, work and relax, including the brand’s signature Cozy Corner.
“Interesting enough, as we continue to study and talk to our guests and our owners, we find that some of the things that they really appreciate, as an example, three zones in our guestrooms—where they sleep, how they work and how they relax—today and are important to them tomorrow,” said Chu. “We have continued to say, ‘We’ll focus on those things going forward also, or maintain those things in a fresh format because that is important to how the guest experiences the guestroom.’”
- Bathroom Transformation: The Hyatt Place brand is responding to guests’ needs by redesigning the Hyatt Place bathroom to include a more generous vanity counter space for personal items, multidirectional lighting at the vanity to reduce shadows, more optimal distance between mirror and vanity for shaving or makeup application, and a walk-in shower with footrest and larger shower amenity tray.
- Energized Lobby Experience: The Hyatt Place brand is reimagining the lobby experience to become an energizing intersection for guests looking to get out of their rooms; whether that means connecting, collaborating, socializing or simply grabbing a coffee or drink on their own.
“We looked at our social space and what we call our social heart of the hotel,” he said. “We find that not all guests use the hotel in the same way, so we wanted to make sure in our lobby that we created a new lobby that is able to be utilized over the long course of the day. We describe it as from a macchiato to a martini. You can have breakfast in the morning, you can have coffee or relax in the afternoon, and then have a cocktail in the evening. It takes on a different personality in how you are using it.”
- Elevated Culinary Experience: The Hyatt Place brand is introducing a new dining experience with elevated culinary offerings that will exceed guests’ expectations by delivering a more compelling breakfast offering, a redesigned coffee bar and coffee program and an evening lounge with a cocktail and dinner menu focused on classic recipes or offerings with contemporary, regional ingredients.
World of Hyatt
The Hyatt Place brand is deepening guest relationships by strengthening the value proposition for its World of Hyatt community.
- Seamless, Early Check-In: World of Hyatt Explorist and Globalist members will be able to travel on their schedule with the option to check in when they want and how they want.
- Mobile Entry: The new generation of Hyatt Place hotels will be mobile entry capable, giving World of Hyatt members even more check-in and check-out flexibility.
- Exclusive Well-being Benefits: Hyatt Place hotels are currently testing a number of app-based well-being collaborations that will roll out through this year and into 2019.
- Reimagined Breakfast: World of Hyatt members will be able to enjoy the newly reimagined breakfast for free at Hyatt Place hotels.
Well-being
Well-being continues to be a powerful and growing movement, and it’s increasingly important to Hyatt Place guests who prioritize their well-being and who want to self-direct what well-being and fitness mean to them. Hyatt’s relationship with Exhale will inform distinctive well-being experiences and offerings at Hyatt Place hotels to help guests stay well while on the road:
- Exhale Video Content: Exhale video content offering branded fitness and mindfulness programs to inspire well-being in the rooms and on the road will be available in various durations and will be integrated into Hyatt’s mobile app.
- Exhale Privileges and Rates: Exhale will extend preferred privileges and rates to Hyatt Place guests in Exhale markets.
- Enhanced Fitness Facilities: Leveraging the expertise of Exhale, the new generation of Hyatt Place hotels will re-write their fitness and well-being environments to address the shifting demand for fitness, relaxation and social connection.
- App-Based Well-Being Collaborations: Hyatt Place hotels will introduce a number of collaborations with well-being and fitness apps, including a bike-sharing platform.
