tl;dr – Unscripted is a ‘soft brand’ but these first three properties all share a similar vibe.
Last year, Hyatt announced a new brand – Unscripted by Hyatt. Hyatt opened the year by announcing the first additions to its Unscripted portfolio, and they came via the acquisition of the Vietnamese chain, Wink Hotels. As part of the Essentials portfolio, Unscripted by Hyatt is a new, upscale “soft brand” targeting independent, boutique hotels looking for, but not limited to, conversion opportunities. It’s intended to be a light-touch approach, allowing hotel operators to maintain many of their own operating practices. Hyatt has now debuted the Unscripted brand in the United States and somewhat quietly, I would say. No press release or announcement. I stumbled across these properties while searching Hyatt’s website to book an upcoming stay.
Hyatt’s First Unscripted Properties in the United States.
The Forester Hotel (Illinois), the Latitude Suites Tinton Falls (New Jersey), and the Americus Hotel (Pennsylvania) are all now part of Hyatt’s Unscripted portfolio.
It’s interesting to see some of the similarities between these properties. They all seem to have an ‘upscale Residence Inn’ vibe – with cookie-cutter extended stay furnishings in many of the rooms, while still maintaining their uniqueness.
The Latitude Suites Tinton Falls property in New Jersey had a quirky “Baby It’s Cold Outside” rate:
If these three properties are any indication, it appears that Unscripted will be Hyatt’s ‘come as you are’ solution for budget stays, enabling the chain to scale rapidly. No need for the construction of a Hyatt House or Hyatt Place – simply find an owner/management team seeking greater distribution for their value option and hand them a World of Hyatt manual.
Hyatt’s assortment of brands at the economic/essentials level are a bit cumbersome – they overlap quite a bit.
We’ll see how the Unscripted by Hyatt brand differentiates itself as more properties onboard.
