Melissa Dewalt caught the travel bug a decade ago when she drove from her home state of Pennsylvania across the country to California to visit her then-boyfriend. She then road-tripped north to Seattle.
21.08.2024 - 13:35 / thepointsguy.com / Mark Hoplamazian / Kevin Osterhaus
The luxury and lifestyle hotel sector continues to be the bread and butter for Hyatt.
On Tuesday, the Chicago-based hotel giant announced plans to acquire New York City-based Standard International and most of its affiliates for a base price of $150 million. Standard International's acquired portfolio, which includes The Standard and Bunkhouse Hotels brands, encompasses 21 open hotels.
More than 30 properties are in various stages of development, and Hyatt's takeover could cost an additional $185 million as more of these hotels open. Standard's orbit also includes the new StandardX brand and The Manner, an upcoming luxury hotel in New York City's SoHo neighborhood.
On the loyalty front, all Standard International properties included in the deal will be integrated into the World of Hyatt network.
"The team behind Standard International has created a unique and award-winning portfolio of brands and properties that turn the status quo on its head and have attracted a loyal following among the most discerning lifestyle guests for the past 25 years," Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian said in a statement. "These properties truly drive the zeitgeist, creating destinations unto themselves with celebrated and talked-about programming and events, such as the Met Gala afterparty. We are thrilled to welcome Standard International's properties and team to the Hyatt family with the newly created lifestyle group and draw on their brilliance, creativity, culture and innovation."
Rumors of the potential acquisition emerged late last month. Some of Standard's best-known properties include The Standard, High Line, in New York City and The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon. The Standard takeover gives Hyatt's robust lifestyle hotel push a significant shot in the arm, as Hyatt's current lifestyle brand lineup includes Dream Hotels, Thompson Hotels, Andaz and Alila. Hyatt's lifestyle hotel room count already quintupled between 2017 and 2023, and the company acquired the Mr & Mrs Smith luxury and lifestyle hotel booking platform last year.
The Standard takeover is expected to close later this year, and the plan is to create a dedicated lifestyle group based in New York City. Amar Lalvani, executive chairman of Standard International, will be the new head of Hyatt's lifestyle division — a similar structure to how Hilton made Kevin Osterhaus, the president of Graduate Hotels, its president of global lifestyle brands following the Graduate acquisition.
"We waited a long time to find the right company with whom to join forces," Lalvani said in a statement. "In choosing Hyatt, we tap into a powerful global infrastructure and loyal guest base. I am very proud that our team has delivered on the potential we saw with The Standard and Bunkhouse
Melissa Dewalt caught the travel bug a decade ago when she drove from her home state of Pennsylvania across the country to California to visit her then-boyfriend. She then road-tripped north to Seattle.
Ski season is just around the corner, and the Ikon Pass is making it even easier to ski across the country by adding a new California mountain to the mix.
A few years ago, when flight prices were awfully expensive, I saw an Amtrak ticket from California to Washington, DC, for just $250 and snapped it up.
Travelers to several major cities in the U.S., including Honolulu, Boston and San Francisco, should be prepared for possible disruptions to hotel stays as thousands of hotel workers prepare for potential strikes.
Clarksville, a historic district of Austin, Texas, has lately emerged as a stylish dining and shopping enclave. Among the area’s most compelling new businesses is La Embajada, a design shop housed in a 1923 Craftsman bungalow. Combining the hospitality and interiors expertise of its founder, Raul Cabra — who has designed tableware for some of Mexico City’s most celebrated restaurants, including Rosetta and Pujol — La Embajada presents a refined, regionally diverse selection of Mexico’s artisanal offerings. A series of small rooms display vintage and contemporary furniture, from stately midcentury armchairs and 1970s glass sconces to a minimalist agave fiber rug by the Oaxaca-based textile artist Trine Ellitsgaard. The house is also an actual residence. Cabra often stays in the bedroom up the creaky stairs, and he’s recently made it available for short-term stays (bookings include a daily basket of baked goods from Austin’s Swedish Hill). Guests can purchase the room’s handmade décor, such as a pair of sleek bedside lamps in milky white onyx, a 1960s La Malinche dresser and a bedspread from a Michoacan manufacturer that once supplied Herman Miller. Downstairs, glassware, candles and gifts fill a section modeled after a typical general store in a small Mexican town. But La Embajada’s heart is its inviting kitchen, where visiting chefs cook elaborate meals and staff prepare ice cream and coffee. In another twist, every bespoke detail — including a hammered copper sink, caramel-colored tiles and waxed pine cabinets — can be custom-ordered for one’s own home.
Can cool and conglomerate coexist — let alone thrive — when it comes to edgy lifestyle brands and multibillion-dollar hotel parent companies?
As the summer travel season comes to a close, travelers have a new way to save on fall getaways. JetBlue recently announced the «Game On» fare sale, which offers flights as low as $49. The promotion is a nod to the fall football season, however the fares can provide an affordable options for early fall vacations, or last-minute trips. As an example, JetBlue shows a fare of $49 one-way from New York's JFK airport to Nashville, Tenn. for travel in both September and October.
Disney Cruise Line is sharing more details about its newest ship, Disney Destiny, including its inaugural sailing date and some itinerary details.
Frontier Airlines unveiled 11 new routes across 15 airports that are scheduled to launch in October and November.
Hundreds of charter and personal planes touched down on the same tarmac this weekend — and it wasn't in the Hamptons, Lake Tahoe, or any other particularly bougie hot spot. It was a pop-up airport called 88NV in the middle of the Nevada desert.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Scarlett Kiaras-Attari, a marketing executive and education content creator who moved to the UK for her studies. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Aug 23, 2024 • 7 min read