Hyatt Place is Hyatt’s biggest limited service brand, and today they’ve unveiled some major changes, which they describe as follows:
Hyatt Place, Hyatt’s upscale select service brand designed for business travelers, today unveiled a new generation of hotels focused on three key areas: thoughtful design, driving value for World of Hyatt members and enhanced well-being experiences. Today’s announcement signals a move that responds to guests’ and owners’ evolving needs, while building on the success of the Hyatt Place brand.
What’s changing at Hyatt Place hotels?
Hyatt says they’re adjusting Hyatt Place design, though hasn’t yet revealed prototypes of the new concept, so it remains to be seen how major these changes will be. Given how little we know, I’ll just share what Hyatt says about the changes coming to Hyatt Place 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Presumably these changes will initially just be made to new properties, and then as properties are renovated in the future, I imagine they’ll feature the new design.
Then there will be “well-being” adjustments made to Hyatt Place, as they describe it. Given Hyatt’s relationship with Exhale, this includes things like Exhale video content at Hyatt Place properties, better fitness facilities, and app-based well-being collaborations.
Perhaps most interesting are the changes coming for World of Hyatt members. Starting in November, World of Hyatt members can expect the following at Hyatt Place properties:
- Seamless and Flexible Check-In:
- World of Hyatt Explorist and Globalist members will be able to travel on their schedule with a forthcoming option to check in when and how they want. Starting early 2019, these elite members will have the exclusive opportunity to enjoy early check-in (based on market and occupancy).
- 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 – coming in 2019.
- Reimagined Breakfast: All World of Hyatt members who book directly with Hyatt can enjoy the newly reimagined breakfast for free at Hyatt Place hotels, starting November 1, 2018.
- The newly reimagined Hyatt Place breakfast will focus wholistic, regional and craft food offerings. We are committed to quality sourcing that aligns with Hyatt’s Food. Thoughtfully Sourced. Carefully Served. philosophy, as well as delivering more regional accompaniments, which includes hot sauces and jams. Additionally, Hyatt Place hotels will source regional recipes – for example, Hyatt Place hotels in the southern U.S. may feature biscuits and gravy or Hyatt Place hotels in the west/Pacific Northwest may feature avocado toast. We want guests to have an experience that gives them a sense of place. The breakfast buffet will also feature items such as cage free eggs, all natural bacon, all natural skinless sausage, and artisanal breads and pastries.
- Non-members can enjoy breakfast for a fee or easily sign up for the World of Hyatt loyalty program upon check in to receive free breakfast during the duration of their stay.
- Free breakfast will be extended to those staying in the same guestroom as the reservation holder so long as the reservation holder is a World of Hyatt member.
Hyatt will formally announce thee changes to consumers in the coming months, so they’ll honor free breakfast for reservations made before the announcement, even if those stays are after November 1, 2018.
My thoughts on these changes
Without pictures of the new properties, or experiencing the new design myself, I’m not sure what to make of the design changes. Hyatt is certainly filling out their corporate buzzword bingo card with how they describe the new concept — “reimagining,” “evolving,” “elevating,” “energizing,” etc.
When these types of announcements are made, I’m always curious what they’re suggesting about their current offerings. For example, they say the new hotels will have “purposeful furniture designed to keep guests organized and productive.” Is that to say the current furniture isn’t “purposeful?”
The biggest changes here are for World of Hyatt members, but even that isn’t a huge deal:
- Explorist and Globalist members will receive early check-in, but it sounds like that’s subject to availability, which isn’t much of a perk at all; most of the time hotels will already let you check-in early if they have the space, and Globalist members already receive early check-in at all Hyatt properties, subject to availability
- Hyatt had been testing out charging for breakfast at Hyatt Place properties, and it sounds like going forward they’ll offer free breakfast to all World of Hyatt members who book direct; that sounds like the best case scenario to me
Ultimately the main objective with these changes is to get people to book directly with Hyatt. They don’t want to pay commissions to online travel agencies, and they think by limiting free breakfast to loyalty program members who book directly, they’ll get more people to book directly.
So yeah, I guess we’ll have to see the design changes at newly built properties. I haven’t seen any renderings of the new design, so we don’t have a lot to go off of.
What do you make of these Hyatt Place changes?
@TommyTrash:
My mother loves taking baths when staying at hotels; she doesn't have a bathtub at her home (just a shower stall), so the ability to soak in a tub is a treat, and one she takes advantage of if staying at a hotel with a bath.
@Tommy people with children use the tubs.
A lot of the older Hyatt Places (the ones that used to be called something else before Hyatt acquired them) are really tired, maybe this just means they’re embarking on some renovations. I can particularly see how the older style bathrooms are behind the times.
Expect to see announcements on sheraton this week. Definitely more exciting and more detailed than the Hyatt Place info. Some details have been announced in PR materials but much of it is being unveiled this week privately. I’m sure some of it will make its way out
I hope they get rid of those half shower doors!
If Hyatt REALLY does not wish to pay commissions to OTA, and prefers patrons to book directly with Hyatt, why don't they just adopt the Southwest Airlines booking model: Only available at the corporate website.
Sounds pretty simple. Unless, of course, they really DON'T want to give up bookings (and thus paying commissions) via sites other than directly with Hyatt.
I would like to see how this is presented to the franchise holders because I see a lot of these moves as cost cutting. More counter space probably means one sink instead of two. Showers instead of tubs reduces housekeeping turnover times and probably reduces water use. Less furniture and fewer breakfasts. I am a big fan of Hyatt Place as it is now and expect that these changes won't effect my opinion much, which...
I would like to see how this is presented to the franchise holders because I see a lot of these moves as cost cutting. More counter space probably means one sink instead of two. Showers instead of tubs reduces housekeeping turnover times and probably reduces water use. Less furniture and fewer breakfasts. I am a big fan of Hyatt Place as it is now and expect that these changes won't effect my opinion much, which is why it seems odd to me that they would be putting out this marketing effort around changes that seem minor and will be slowly adopted.
I’m glad they are going to enclosed showers at every property. Who takes a bath in a fiberglass hotel tub? Who?
Nothingburger. Sounds to me like they're renvisioning Hyatt Place into becoming Hyatt House. Slowly. Overtime. And with membership required for Breakfast.
"corporate buzzword bingo card " funny!! Very troubling since usually this "corporateSPEAK" means nothing but bullsh** to mind control the sheep!. Think British Airways and other companies that introduce "enhancements" Enough!... we are not putting up with the corporate BS any more!.
Hyatt Place breakfast isn't amazing. But for someone who just wants a crappy bagel and a glass of juice it fits the bill... The problem I have, and the issue that will steer me clear of Hyatt Place properties now, is that my company requires me to book via the Expedia corp travel site (Egencia) rather than direct. I'm still able to use my personal card to pay for it. Why would I now abandon...
Hyatt Place breakfast isn't amazing. But for someone who just wants a crappy bagel and a glass of juice it fits the bill... The problem I have, and the issue that will steer me clear of Hyatt Place properties now, is that my company requires me to book via the Expedia corp travel site (Egencia) rather than direct. I'm still able to use my personal card to pay for it. Why would I now abandon my crappy bagel and juice? And since I can no longer hit status via stays I have no need for my one night and switch. Hyatt seems to be kicking the less frequent business traveler to the curb here, strange that they'd abandon one segment that it would seem they'd want to grow...
Speaking of Hyatt Lucky, can you have your contacts look into when the new Ocean Resort and Casino in Atlantic City will go live with Hyatt. Also wondering what category hotel this will be considered? This is a pretty big deal for Hyatt, as this is the former Revel hotel finally coming back to life with 1000+ rooms.
http://www.theoceanac.com/
I'm going to grab my popcorn on November 1 and head to a Hyatt Place. How the heck do they intend to enforce the 'you didn't book on our website, no breakfast for you' rule?! As it stands, even a nicely dressed homeless person could walk in off the street and get a free breakfast at a Hyatt Place...
Hope they don't eliminate in-room coffee under the "reimagining coffee service" part. The Grand Hyatt DFW doesn't want you to make coffee in the room anymore.
What I've liked about Hyatt Place in the past is that (1) it's usually under federal per diem, which is what our company uses to decide on reasonable hotel rates and (2) the rooms are pretty consistent in design from property to property, so I know what I'm getting when I show up. This blows up (2), so whatever they're doing needs to be an improvement.
"Reimagined breakfast"? Seriously?
Hyatt, I don't miss you or your marketing consultant-driven nonsense-speak.