Hyatt has just announced their latest hotel brand, called Unbound Collection by Hyatt. This is Hyatt's first attempt at introducing an independent hotel brand as part of their portfolio, and seems to be almost identical to Starwood's Tribute Portfolio, which has the slogan "Stay Independent." Here's a message from Hyatt's CEO, Mark Hoplamazian, describing his…
Continue reading: Hyatt’s Newest Hotel Brand: Unbound Collection
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Big fan of this. I generally go out of my way to stay at something that's not "cookie cutter" but still collects points/stays. Familiarity is nice, but for road warriors, sometimes you're sick of staying in a Courtyard or Aloft or even a full service brand where you are. Brands like this (and Starwood's Tribute/Marriott's Autograph) are pretty awesome and a nice change of pace.
@ Lucky -- so this is like Starwood's Luxury Collection, right? If so it does make sense to have a brand for one-off properties like that. Certainly, it makes sense to put Hotel du Louvre in this collection instead of original plans to put it under Andaz.
P.S. Would be curious to know what people think about The Driskill. I've not been there yet but it'd appear to be very popular based on being unavailable a lot of times I'm searching for Austin hotels.
@ Ivan Y:
I didn't stay there but was around The Driskill many times during a visit to Austin back in September. Can't vouch for the rooms, but the hotel is beautiful. Really impressive just walking by and through the lobby. I couldn't find a small hole-in-the-wall bar nearby and a bellman from The Driskill came outside to help me. Everyone I've talked to who knows The Driskill says it's well worth a stay.
@Ivan - The reason it's unavailable is because it sits on one of the hottest blocks of downtown Austin (6th St). If there's any sort of festival/convention/race in town, it's one of the first get booked. Otherwise, it's a very very charming hotel with a wonderful bar and great service. Very un-cookie-cutter and a great place to call homebase while you explore Austin.
@Matt/Ivan,
Live in Austin and can vouch the Driskill is definitely worth the stay. Extremely nostalgic feel to it, each individual room is different, and the bar itself is awesome. Not to mention the location couldn't be better for a night out on the town.
Appears similar to the Marriott Autograph collection in concept, although it definitely seems more upscale. I'd say the Autograph properties I've stayed at have been pretty charming, unique, and boutique, but definitely mid-range.
The most interesting part of this announcement is what the CMO said in the Skift.com article: "Another potentially interesting differentiator in the future, The Unbound Collection could include non-hotel products such as river cruising and alternative accommodations. Nothing has been officially decided, Banikarim told Skift, but it’s something Hyatt is seriously exploring."
That is exciting!
The problem I see after many years with Hyatt is if it isn't a full service Hyatt
Hyatt won't take problems seriously when or if they happen
If they aren't managed by Hyatt they wont have control over recovering from in house
Failures or the hotel not upgrading a Diamond member
While it may be nice to have additional properties I'm not confident that Hyatt will take the
Relationship seriously other than to grab some revenue from bringing these properties into the fold
MGM is a good example in Laa Vegas but their properties are reasonably well managed
other than the downsides resort fees.no breakfast no late checkout and no guarantee of an upgrade if available