Hyatt has revealed that the US states of Alabama and California will be home to the first properties from its extended-stay brand, Hyatt Studios.
The company launched the upper midscale brand in April, and signed letters of interest for more than 100 Hyatt Studios hotels in the Americas.
The debut property from the brand will open in late 2024 in Mobile, Alabama, thanks to a franchise agreement with 3H Group, Inc. This will make Hyatt’s first branded hotel in the area and will eb located near Mobile Bay’s Gulf Coast, providing guests with access to the port city. The company says that the city will not only attract tourists but also those across industries such as manufacturing, aerospace and retail.
This will be followed by a 113-room Hyatt Studios hotel in downtown Marysville, located in Yuba County in California, as part of a franchise agreement with Presidio Hotel Development LLC. According to Hyatt, the city is an ideal location for the brand due to its 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.
Dan Hansen, global head of Hyatt Studios, commented:
“Hyatt’s entry into these new markets with Hyatt Studios hotels exemplifies our commitment to developers, guests and World of Hyatt members.
“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.”
Each Hyatt Studios hotel plans to fit approximately 122 rooms “with flexibility to scale up or down”, all of which will include a kitchen, while facilities will include a grab-and-go breakfast offering and 24-hour market.
The Hyatt Studios concept will join the existing Hyatt House extended stay brand, along with Hyatt Place and Caption by Hyatt in the group’s select service category.
The announcement comes as major hotel brands are increasingly focusing on the extended stay market, with Marriott, Hilton and Radisson all unveiling new brands this year.
See our forthcoming feature on extended stay brands in the September 2023 issue of Business Traveller.
