Andaz Hotels’ Development Pipeline Kicks Into Overdrive


Skift Take

Andaz was the first corporate hospitality group to base its brand identity on the idea that a hotel could be a portal into the local neighborhood, and now it's building on that by introducing guests to more destination partners outside the hotels.

Andaz Hotels is scheduled to open nine new properties by 2018, basically doubling its global portfolio. In chronological order of opening, the new destinations are: Delhi, Ottawa, Scottsdale, Riviera Maya in Mexico, Palm Springs, Sanya in China, Singapore, Munich and Bali. The Hyatt Hotels-operated brand is significant in the evolution of hospitality in the 21st century because it was the first corporate chain to prioritize local travel, which back in 2007 during the company's launch was just beginning to gain prominence. In fact, we couldn't have produced the seminal Skift Trends Report—The Rise of Local in Hospitality—in 2013 without Andaz. In order to show that major hotel brands were going to begin to differentiate their value proposition based on providing access to local people and neighborhoods, we needed a corporate brand doing something innovative in that area. At the time, boutique hotel groups like Ace Hotel and Morgans Hotels were actively showcasing loc