Dive Brief:
- Hyatt has updated its Hyatt Place and Hyatt Studios prototypes using new owner feedback in an effort to “improve development economics,” according to a Monday news release.
- Hyatt reduced the key count on both prototypes, per the release. Hyatt Place serves the upscale segment, while Hyatt Studios serves the upper midscale extended stay space.
- The “more efficient” prototypes will help Hyatt’s continued portfolio expansion, as hotel owners navigate “a complex development landscape,” Julienne Smith, Hyatt’s newly appointed head of Americas growth, said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
To create a “more efficient new-build model intended to improve profitability and return on investment,” Hyatt has reduced the key count on the Hyatt Place prototype from 140 to 127, per the release. The move decreases the overall building area by nearly 20%.
The “Gen 4 Hyatt Place” prototype is also a four-story wood structure as compared to the six-story steel-and-concrete one in a previous model, per the release.
Together, the changes are expected to cut building costs for the brand by approximately 25%.
Meanwhile, the updated Hyatt Studios prototype is nearly 3,000 square feet smaller, with 12 fewer keys, a Hyatt spokesperson told Hotel Dive. The lobby has also expanded from two bays to three, and 356 square feet of meeting space have been added, resulting in “a more efficient footprint that puts greater emphasis on the shared spaces guests use throughout their stay,” the spokesperson said.
The changes come as Hyatt applies a “feedback-driven approach to newer brands … as they continue to rapidly scale,” the company said. The updates focus on opportunities to reduce building and operating costs for owners, while preserving the guest experience, per the spokesperson.
Hyatt Studios first launched in 2023 and opened its inaugural location in Mobile, Alabama, in 2025. Other newer brands that Hyatt is scaling include Hyatt Select and Unscripted by Hyatt.
Hyatt’s global development pipeline sits at roughly 154,000 rooms, per the release.
