The Story of Hyatt's Luxury Lifestyle Hotels

Andaz, Hyatt's luxury lifestyle brand, launched a brand awareness campaign in November titled “Like No One Is Watching.” This campaign illustrates the many challenges and opportunities that hotel groups face when marketing their brands in today's noisy media ecosystem. So Skift checked in to see what was going on.

“The benchmarks we initially set for engagement and viewership have shown great results so far,” said Crystal Vinis Thomas, vice president and global brand leader for lifestyle and luxury brands at Hyatt. Masu.

This campaign marks Andaz's first as a hotel brand since its debut in 2007. The campaign is the brainchild of Thomas, who was named to AdAge's 40 Under 40 list in 2023. Thomas previously ran brand operations for Apple's Beats by Dre and Marriott's luxury lifestyle brand W.

Experience trip

Hyatt said it is making a “seven-figure investment” in the year-long campaign. So far he has placed 3 ads and soon he will have 3 more ads. The aim was to break through the noise with a non-traditional marketing approach.

“One of the things that was important to me was that Andaz is a lifestyle brand, so we need to talk about lifestyle and experiences and the transactional nature of hotel bookings,” Thomas said.

She felt that hotel marketing focused too much on showing people the rooms and pools and encouraging them to book, rather than on the storytelling that companies like Nike do. Travelers should be able to see themselves in the stories, she says.

In the Andaz brand campaign, the Hyatt team showcased real people living a more ambitious, non-traditional side within Andaz properties.

For example, a middle school teacher visits the facility to enjoy experiences like DJing, karaoke, and playing electric guitar in bed to connect with her deep love of music.

Realizing a luxury lifestyle hotel brand

Thomas thought it was important to choose real people rather than models. They interviewed many people and found a handful who had day jobs but secretly had passions, such as someone who wanted to be an Afropunk fashionista.

Some of the best moments have happened through experimentation and serendipity, Thomas said.

One of the concepts was to depict a woman in a resort box surrounded by flowers to emphasize her love for dance.

Afanador, a portrait photographer, suggested having the woman hold the parrot, but Thomas thought it was “cheesy”. However, when we conducted an experiment in which we had women hold parrots, we obtained some beautiful photos and videos.

“Annika just started moving and flowing with the parrot. It was the perfect combination of moments and we were able to bring the idea to life,” Thomas said. “She had never held a parrot before, and suddenly that moment unlocked even more parts of herself and gave her the freedom to use that to express herself. Ta.”

“Our whole campaign is about exploring our bold persona through travel,” Thomas said. “When I think about the moment it was taken, it just gives me chills.”

campaign cheat sheet

• Where will my ad appear? The ads have been running for about a year in print, online, and on paid and brand-owned social channels like TikTok. Campaign artwork will be shown in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Vogue helped launch ads for the current campaign starting in their September issue.

• Who made it? Thomas and her colleague Kenneth Allen Villamil, vice president of global brand design, hired branding agency RO New York as a concept partner. (Andaz does not have an agency of record.) Hyatt hired portrait photographer Ruben Afanador, cinematographer Joshua Steen, and stylist Bernat Buscato to bring the scenes to life.

• What's going on at the hotel itself? The campaign includes a series of occasional events across all 25 Andaz properties aimed at helping guests realize their fantasies. Examples include Anders' recent masterclass in music mixing with professional DJs held at his Condesa in Mexico City, and Anders's recent masterclass in music mixing with professional DJs at his Mexico City (Aerocity) venue, and Anders's of his School of Art, Delhi's oldest art, which recently became available for booking at his Deli (Aerocity) venue. including a pottery making class at one of his.

Photo credit: Still from an ad for Hyatt's luxury lifestyle hotel brand, Andaz. With the theme of “movement”, a dancer holding a parrot is depicted on the beach at his resort. Source: Hyatt.