Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Barcelona, London, on a plane
Programs: IB+ Gold, TK E+, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LTP, IHG Diamond
Posts: 14,186
This makes perfect sense to me (from the perspective of a developer / Hyatt).
Standardised rooms to keep build / furnishing costs down. Cheaper franchise fee. You can limit elite benefits because of the HP badge.
Yet you can market it as far nicer (and therefore more $ per night) than a standard HP because you've put some money into the common areas.
Award category 2 FWIW.