Hyatt Hotels Corp. came out swinging this year by leaning into a
blend of corporate and lifestyle segments. The company bet on the converging
aspects of the travel industry in a big way with its deal to acquire Dream
Hotels Group brand and platform for $300 million over six years. The deal
bolsters Hyatt’s room presence in New York City by 30 percent, significantly
increasing the brand’s footprint in a high-demand and high-revenue business
travel market.
The Dream Hotels acquisition adds 1,700 rooms across 12
franchised properties to Hyatt’s lifestyle portfolio and gives the brand added
inventory in other key markets, including Nashville and Las Vegas. The deal also positions Hyatt to cast
a wider net of accommodations and offerings with properties and destinations
that serve corporates, leisure travelers and the significant market that has
developed somewhere between corporate and leisure.
This isn’t Hyatt’s first—and likely will not be Hyatt’s last—investment
in lifestyle hotels. And it could signal a move away from a hyper-focus on
corporate travel as it has been historically defined by the hotel industry.
Hyatt president and CEO Mark Hoplamazian during a New York
University event earlier this year said that as a result of the company’s
acquisition strategy toward leisure and lifestyle hotels, its business mix had
gone from 35 percent leisure travel to more than 50 percent. He added, however,
that “when you think about it, there is this historically artificial
distinction between business and group [travel].” He cited conversations with
other hotel executives who had seen transient trips from major business hubs
come significantly down, “but the incidence where there is a team … traveling
together to cover the coast and do multiple business meetings over the course
of a week has gone up. So has business travel declined or not? The answer is
no. It just looks different.” And Hyatt is moving to serve that new look and
feel.
Hyatt’s busy 2022 will ensure it has more to products and
services to sell in 2023. In addition to the Dream Hotels deal, it announced a 47-property
expansion of Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotels throughout the Americas and partnered
with Lindner Hotels AG to extend its European presence.