Hyatt CEO Interview: We’re Looking Beyond Hotels to Serve Evolving Needs of Guests
Photo Credit: Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian at the Andaz Tokyo. Hoplamazian sees 2017 being a pivotal year for Hyatt in terms of its growth and continued efforts to develop stronger ties between the company and its guests. Hyatt Hotels / Hyatt Corporation
Skift Take
Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian knows the key to managing disruption and challenges is to focus on the basics: the customer, and the people serving them.
This year will be a pivotal one for Chicago-based Hyatt.
In 2016, the company debuted a new soft brand, the The Unbound Collection by Hyatt, formally launched discounted loyalty member rates, and announced plans to completely overhaul its loyalty program.
This is the year when all of those efforts will ultimately converge: The Unbound Collection by Hyatt will turn one year old in just a few weeks, and Hyatt's direct bookings push, as Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian noted, will continue this year and for many years to come. And in March, the new World of Hyatt will replace Hyatt Gold Passport.
Reception for the new loyalty program hasn't necessarily been the most laudatory — and a very awkward Reddit Ask Me Anything session in November didn't help. Nevertheless, Hoplamazian thinks World of Hyatt represents the kind of loyalty shift in travel that's completely necessary, especially as consumer needs and wants continue to evolve.
Hoplamazian also hinted at some possible new ve
