Unscripted By Hyatt: New Upscale, Flexible, Collection Brand

We’ve seen a huge amount of brand inflation at the major hotel groups in recent years, in an effort to appeal to as many hotel owners as possible. Along those lines, Hyatt has just announced the details of its newest hotel brand…

Basics of the new Unscripted by Hyatt hotel brand

Unscripted by Hyatt is the name of Hyatt’s newest brand. As it’s described, the brand is “designed for travelers who value the essentials and prefer spontaneity over structure,” and the brand will “bring to life a flexible, collection-style approach where each property reflects its own identity and local flavor yet remains unmistakably Hyatt in quality and care.”

Hyatt says that the new brand is part of the company’s “Essentials” portfolio, and it’s positioned in the upscale segment. This brand “fills a key white space in Hyatt’s portfolio,” and is designed to “unlock growth through adaptive reuse and conversion-friendly opportunities.”

So far, 40 hotels globally are in active discussions to join the brand, and the brand will offer a “light-touch operating model and flexible brand standards.” The expectation is that most of the initial properties belonging to the brand will be conversions rather than new builds.

Here’s how Dan Hansen, Hyatt’s Head of Americas Development, describes the new brand:

“The Unscripted by Hyatt brand gives owners a flexible path to join the Hyatt system while still delivering the high-quality, dependable experience guests expect from Hyatt. By joining the growing World of Hyatt loyalty program, owners benefit from our powerful network where an innovative new brand like Unscripted by Hyatt widens our guest and customer reach and strengthens the value of the whole Hyatt system.”

How will this brand be positioned in the market?

When hotels publish press releases about new brands, as a consumer, you really have to read between the lines to figure out what can actually be expected. After all, these announcements are primarily targeted at investors and hotel owners, rather than guests.

So based on what we know, there are a couple of key points. First of all, the brand will be upscale, so expect this to be on the lower end of Hyatt’s portfolio. These won’t be luxury properties. Second of all, the brand will be conversion friendly and hotels will be able to reflect their own identities, meaning there will be few consistent brand standards.

My initial read is that this will be like a much less luxurious version of Unbound Collection by Hyatt, as that’s a collection of independent luxury properties. I guess to make a Marriott comparison, Unbound Collection by Hyatt would be like Luxury Collection or Autograph Collection, while Unscripted by Hyatt would be like Tribute Portfolio.

Now, what I’m not sure of is what differentiates Unscripted by Hyatt from JdV by Hyatt. After all, that brand is described as “a collection of original hotels with a deep respect for the neighborhoods that make up each destination,” and “each hotel is uniquely inspired by its surroundings and is a story about the communities we call home.”

It sounds like Unscripted by Hyatt might be a little lower end than JdV, especially with the emphasis on adaptive reuse of properties? Either way, I welcome the concept of unique, independent properties joining the major hotel groups, to benefit from their distribution power and loyalty programs.

Bottom line

Unscripted by Hyatt is a new collection-style hotel brand, which will be positioned in the upscale market. This will likely be like a less luxurious version of Unbound Collection by Hyatt. To me that sounds mighty similar to JdV by Hyatt, but of course the major hotel groups keep trying to create new brands in an effort to increasingly appeal to investors.

What do you make of the Unscripted by Hyatt brand?