Hyatt Unveils Plans for First Locations and Leadership Appointments for Upper-Midscale, Extended-Stay Brand, Hyatt Studios
Hyatt leverages a developer-driven approach to accelerate speed-to-market for its recently announced brand
CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) today announced significant updates to Hyatt Studios, the latest select service brand in the Hyatt portfolio, including executed franchise agreements for the first locations in Mobile, Alabama and Marysville, California, emphasizing Hyatt’s strategy of entering untapped markets where its brand presence is yet to be established. Hyatt Studios, Hyatt’s first upper-midscale extended-stay brand in the Americas, is expected to be a key accelerator for Hyatt, building on six years of industry leading net rooms growth.
“Hyatt’s entry into these new markets with Hyatt Studios hotels exemplifies our commitment to developers, guests and World of Hyatt members,” said Dan Hansen, global head of Hyatt Studios. “We’ve learned that when Hyatt guests stay with a competing brand, they appear to do so for one of two reasons: the absence of a Hyatt hotel within five miles or the choice to stay at a lower chain scale. By enabling guests to choose a Hyatt hotel in new markets, we grow brand loyalty without intra-brand competition and present more white-space options to developers.”
Hyatt unveils first two Hyatt Studios locations
Following Hyatt’s announcement of signed letters of interest for more than 100 Hyatt Studios hotels at the brand’s launch in April, Hyatt now confirms the first Hyatt Studios locations:
Mobile, Alabama (Tillman’s Corner)
3H Group, Inc, founded by Hiren Desai, an expert in the select service space, has entered into a franchise agreement with Hyatt to build the inaugural Hyatt Studios hotel in Tillman’s Corner, just outside of Mobile, Alabama. The site will mark Hyatt’s first branded hotel in the area and is strategically located near Mobile Bay’s Gulf Coast, providing extended-stay guests exceptional value and easy access to this rapidly expanding port city. In addition to attracting tourism, the city boasts a diverse range of industries in manufacturing, aerospace, and commercial retail, further enhancing its midscale appeal. This property is set to open in late 2024.
“We are honored to be a part of this significant milestone with Hyatt,” said Hiren Desai, president and CEO, 3H Group, Inc. “Hyatt’s unwavering commitment to delivering world-class service to owners, operators and guests alike makes them the ideal hospitality company to expand our extended-stay presence in this growing community.”
Marysville, California
Presidio Hotel Development LLC has entered into a franchise agreement with Hyatt for a 113-room Hyatt Studios hotel in downtown Marysville, California, located in Yuba County and part of the North Sacramento area. Marysville is an ideal location to develop a Hyatt Studios hotel due to the city’s rapid growth in recent years, which has led to increased demand in the midscale segment. Expected to open in 2025, the property will feature a custom buildout, including dedicated meeting spaces, to effectively serve the needs of both business travelers and those attending local events in the area.
“The experience of working with Hyatt is unparalleled. They authentically embrace their ethos of listening to understand and have created an innovative extended-stay offering, shaped by input from the development community,” said Guneet Bajwa, president and CEO of Presidio Hotel Development LLC. “That, coupled with the adaptability to tailor the product to my market’s demands, are among the reasons we’ve chosen to invest in developing a Hyatt Studios hotel.”
Hyatt expands Hyatt Studios leadership team
Under the leadership of Dan Hansen, a carefully selected and dedicated team has been formed to ensure the brand delivers on its value proposition. Hyatt veteran Jason Ballard has been promoted to the position of Head of Operations, Hyatt Studios, reporting directly to Hansen.
Most recently serving as Hyatt’s Vice President of Franchise Operations, Select Service, Ballard was instrumental in establishing and nurturing Hyatt’s Franchise & Owner Relations Group (FORG). Under his leadership, the Americas Select Service Franchise portfolio saw its highest-ever owner and operator satisfaction scores. Since joining Hyatt in 2006, Ballard has held positions in Revenue Management, Capital Planning and Operations Analytics across all three Hyatt regions – Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe, Africa and Middle East. Ballard played a critical role in establishing the global footprint of the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands, spearheading the first Hyatt select service properties in Thailand, China, Japan and Australia, and the first Hyatt branded hotels in Barcelona, Athens and Budapest. His role in implementing global processes and assembling teams in these new markets facilitated the momentous expansion of Hyatt’s international brand presence in the select service segment.
In addition to Ballard’s role, Hyatt has enlisted internal experts and external industry professionals, making substantial leadership appointments in finance and commercial services. Furthermore, the team has strengthened its development efforts by recruiting additional team members who are dedicated to advancing the expansion of the brand.
“Hyatt’s transformative growth demonstrates the importance we place on fostering strong relationships with owners, developers and franchisees,” said Ballard. “Prioritizing owner satisfaction has allowed us to position Hyatt Studios hotels as a compelling option with competitive market availability. By listening to the needs of our owners and guests, we can now offer solutions for more stay occasions for 40 million World of Hyatt loyalty members.”
The Hyatt Studios brand will join Hyatt’s growing portfolio in the Timeless collection and is positioned to transform the extended-stay experience. Developers can expect a product that delivers three main components for success: efficient and scalable prototypes, a lean operating model, and flexible brand and design elements to adapt to local market needs across primary, secondary and tertiary markets. Accommodating extended-stay and transient demand, each Hyatt Studios hotel will be sized to fit approximately 122 rooms with flexibility to scale up or down.
The term “Hyatt” is used in this release for convenience to refer to Hyatt Hotels Corporation and/or one or more of its affiliates.
About Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company guided by its purpose – to care for people so they can be their best. As of June 30, 2023, the Company’s portfolio included more than 1,250 hotels and all-inclusive properties in 76 countries across six continents. The Company’s offering includes brands in the Timeless Collection, including Park Hyatt®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt®, Hyatt Vacation Club®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Studios, and UrCove; the Boundless Collection, including Miraval®, Alila®, Andaz®, Thompson Hotels®, Dream® Hotels, Hyatt Centric®, and Caption by Hyatt®; the Independent Collection, including The Unbound Collection by Hyatt®, Destination by Hyatt®, and JdV by Hyatt®; and the Inclusive Collection, including Impression by Secrets, Hyatt Ziva®, Hyatt Zilara®, Zoëtry® Wellness & Spa Resorts, Secrets® Resorts & Spas, Breathless Resorts & Spas®, Dreams® Resorts & Spas, Hyatt Vivid Hotels & Resorts, Alua Hotels & Resorts®, and Sunscape® Resorts & Spas. Subsidiaries of the Company operate the World of Hyatt® loyalty program, ALG Vacations®, Mr & Mrs Smith™, Unlimited Vacation Club®, Amstar DMC destination management services, and Trisept Solutions® technology services. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Forward-Looking Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “may,” “could,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “likely,” “will,” “would” and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by us and our management, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, general economic uncertainty in key global markets and a worsening of global economic conditions or low levels of economic growth; the rate and the pace of economic recovery following economic downturns; global supply chain constraints and interruptions, rising costs of construction-related labor and materials, and increases in costs due to inflation or other factors that may not be fully offset by increases in revenues in our business; risks affecting the luxury, resort, and all-inclusive lodging segments; levels of spending in business, leisure, and group segments, as well as consumer confidence; declines in occupancy and average daily rate; limited visibility with respect to future bookings; loss of key personnel; domestic and international political and geo-political conditions, including political or civil unrest or changes in trade policy; hostilities, or fear of hostilities, including future terrorist attacks, that affect travel; travel-related accidents; natural or man-made disasters, weather and climate-related events, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, droughts, floods, wildfires, oil spills, nuclear incidents, and global outbreaks of pandemics or contagious diseases, or fear of such outbreaks; the pace and consistency of recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic and the long-term effects of the pandemic, additional resurgence, or COVID-19 variants, including with respect to global and regional economic activity, travel limitations or bans, the demand for travel, transient and group business, and levels of consumer confidence; the ability of third-party owners, franchisees, or hospitality venture partners to successfully navigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, any additional resurgence, or COVID-19 variants or other pandemics, epidemics or other health crises; our ability to successfully achieve certain levels of operating profits at hotels that have performance tests or guarantees in favor of our third-party owners; the impact of hotel renovations and redevelopments; risks associated with our capital allocation plans, share repurchase program, and dividend payments, including a reduction in, or elimination or suspension of, repurchase activity or dividend payments; the seasonal and cyclical nature of the real estate and hospitality businesses; changes in distribution arrangements, such as through internet travel intermediaries; changes in the tastes and preferences of our customers; relationships with colleagues and labor unions and changes in labor laws; the financial condition of, and our relationships with, third-party property owners, franchisees, and hospitality venture partners; the possible inability of third-party owners, franchisees, or development partners to access the capital necessary to fund current operations or implement our plans for growth; risks associated with potential acquisitions and dispositions and our ability to successfully integrate completed acquisitions with existing operations, including with respect to our acquisition of Apple Leisure Group and Dream Hotel Group and the successful integration of each business; failure to successfully complete proposed transactions (including the failure to satisfy closing conditions or obtain required approvals); our ability to successfully execute on our strategy to expand our management and franchising business while at the same time reducing our real estate asset base within targeted timeframes and at expected values; declines in the value of our real estate assets; unforeseen terminations of our management or franchise agreements; changes in federal, state, local, or foreign tax law; increases in interest rates, wages, and other operating costs; foreign exchange rate fluctuations or currency restructurings; risks associated with the introduction of new brand concepts, including lack of acceptance of new brands or innovation; general volatility of the capital markets and our ability to access such markets; changes in the competitive environment in our industry, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, industry consolidation, and the markets where we operate; our ability to successfully grow the World of Hyatt loyalty program and Unlimited Vacation Club paid membership program; cyber incidents and information technology failures; outcomes of legal or administrative proceedings; and violations of regulations or laws related to our franchising business and licensing businesses and our international operations;; and other risks discussed in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including our annual report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which filings are available from the SEC. These factors are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by any of our forward-looking statements. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are made only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information or future events, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.
Contacts
MEDIA:
Dana Fioravanti
Hyatt
dana.fioravanti@hyatt.com
INVESTOR RELATIONS:
Adam Rohman
Hyatt
adam.rohman@hyatt.com