First of all, Thanks to the original poster ( jkc22 ) for opening such an interesting thread.
As I pointed out my dissatisfaction about the quality differences within the Hyatt chain is growing constantly and I share the OP`s concerns…
One can generally say that the quality of lodging and the quality of those famous brand names is on average higher in Europe or Asia than in the US ( with the size of the room it is actually vice versa, so that would be a huge argument for rating hotel rooms in the US, in Germany or other European countries a room has to have a certain size to get a certain rating )
Hilton, for example, only had a handful of properties in Germany, but purchased some Crowne Plazas three of four ago and rebranded them as Hilton`s , although the quality is only 4* in comparison to the original Hilton Hotels which were 5* , so the difference right now between the Hilton Frankfurt and Hilton Dortmund ( a former CP ) is mind boggling
Originally Posted by hyatt_otaku
wow, that's a bit of an eye opener. I live and travel a lot in the Asia Pacific region and almost always choose to stay at the Hyatt (hence my name
).
I was under the impression that the gorgeous properties in this area were representative of the chain as a whole. It dissppointing to hear that a lot of the properties in North America are of sub-par standard.
What about Europe? How do the properties there stack up as compared to Asia?
This is actually the perfect example why I am concerned, we had a famous post in a german magazine some years ago, where a German CEO used to the Park Hyatt Hamburg had to fly to Silicon Valley and stayed at the Hyatt San Jose Airport….enough said, I think…
Certainly the average property in Europe or Asia is newer , so the quality in Europe or Asia is higher, it will be interesting to see where Hyatt wants to grow in Europe, right now the strategy is clear and they want to grow in the real upscale area ( asking price for Milano is normally in the $ 600 region per night ) Zurich as a market is not as high priced as Milano, but again Hyatt is a Top 3 Hotel in town.
Seeing some other European markets, you can establish yourself in the upscale business, but there are some nice ( and high yield ) markets left without any Hyatt presence; namely Rome ( rumours about PH there not verified yet ) Barcelona or Dublin.
To answer hyatt_otaku question about the quality in Europe, I personally think that the former Park Hyatt The Stanhope New York was comparable to the Regency Brussels in all aspects, both kind of boutique properties in an upscale neigborhood, however New York was considered a Top 3 US property, while Brussels is ( IMO ) the worst Hyatt in central Europe ( but still a 5+ Hotel ! )
I also share the OP`s recommendation to rebrand some properties or invest massively in refurbishment, however one should not underestimate that Hyatt, given its small size, may not have the financial background to do so , I think the unsuccessful takeover of Le Meridien showed big time that there are bigger players in the market who can outperform Hyatt easily
( and Le Meridien would have fit quite perfectly into Hyatt`s portfolio , especially when it comes to get Hyatt on the map in Europe … )
The US branch of Hyatt has asked Hyatt International and CEO Chorengel to take over the operations of the US based Park Hyatt properties, so I assume Chorengel will act accordingly and invest massively to let the Pak Hyatts shine again asap.
Beside that I think that the recent opening of some Regency Clubs looks promising ( Dearborn and SFO were mentioned here recently ), however I hope that those properties realise that a full service hotel has to be full service on the weekends as well.
I hope that Hyatt can establish themselves as a brand certainly below the AAA 5 Diamond bunch ( Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, MD and so on ) but well above the average Hilton or Sheraton or Marriott, however the competition and brands of those competitors ( JW Marriott, W or Westin with the odd Conrad thrown in ) will give Hyatt a hard time, especially considering those companies are much bigger than Hyatt.