Hyatt Pursues Standard Hotels: What's Behind the Luxury Lifestyle Play

Hyatt is reportedly near to closing a transaction with Standard International, owner of the luxury lifestyle brand The Standard and other brands.

What's behind the potential deal? The Standard is part of a category of hotels that Hyatt and all major hotel groups increasingly covet. While a typical hotel is just a place to sleep, "luxury lifestyle" hotels are boutique-like places where the lobby looks like a modern art gallery and the rooftop bar serves drinks with names you can't pronounce.

Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian has previously told investors that adding luxury and lifestyle brands can create a "network effect," driving loyalty program growth and engagement.

This network effect works out roughly this way: The more fancy hotels an operator has, the more well-to-do people want to stay there and book directly.

Over the past six years, Hyatt has doubled the company's number of luxury hotels and quintupled the number of high-end lifestyle resorts.

Hyatt said a year ag