Hyatt Taps Danny Meyer to Help With Food and Beverage for New Brand Caption – Skift

Hyatt is introducing a new lifestyle brand, Caption, aimed at attracting business travelers through the use of communal meeting spaces and refined food and beverage options.

The new portfolio addition, Hyatt’s 15th brand overall, is reminiscent of the chain’s existing Hyatt Place offering, in that it is select service and is in the upscale category. The company’s current pipeline for Caption consists of 460 hotels, or approximately 92,000 rooms, as of the end of June.

“We intend for the Caption by Hyatt brand to be a global growth driver domestically and internationally in dense urban markets, emerging neighborhoods and high foot traffic areas,” said Jim Chu, Hyatt’s global head of development, in a statement.

Hyatt, which is known for its work in the wellness space through brands such as Miraval and its World of Hyatt loyalty program, described Caption’s F&B offerings as a “vibrant mash-up between café, market, and bar.” Restaurateur Danny Meyer and his Union Square Hospitality Group aided Hyatt in creating the design and creation of the F&B program.

Hyatt and Union Square Hospitality Group could not be immediately reached for comment.

Another Brand For Hyatt

Caption’s debut also follows a company-wide integration effort of Two Roads Hospitality’s portfolio, which the Chicago-based Hyatt purchased in 2018.

The deal was intended to both fill a gap in Hyatt’s under-penetrated foreign markets and offer World of Hyatt loyalty members more variety in options to stay as they earn and redeem points. Hyatt brands Andaz, Joie de Vivre, Thompson Hotels, and Alila were brought over in the deal valued at $480 million.

Hyatt additionally later created a new lifestyle division in May, which Caption is likely to join. The announcement followed a plethora of new lifestyle brands announced by competitors  Accor, Wyndham, and Hilton in the months prior, as the sector grows in popularity. Frederic Flageat-Simon, the former CEO of Two Roads Hospitality Asia, heads up Hyatt’s lifestyle operations.

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