Many travelers don’t choose Hyatt as their primary hotel chain because it has fewer hotels compared to other mega-brands. In a big city, you might find a dozen Marriott or Hilton hotels but only 3 or 4 Hyatt hotels, which are spread across different brands like Andaz, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place, and JdV by Hyatt. Each of these hotels might be in a different neighborhood, which may not meet the needs of your stay.
Hyatt is aware of this and has been rapidly expanding its portfolio by adding properties. Many of these acquisitions involve multiple hotels. For example, in 2018, they purchased Two Roads Hospitality, which allowed them to include brands such as Alila, Destination by Hyatt, JdV by Hyatt, and Thompson Hotels. In 2020, Hyatt acquired Apple Leisure Group, adding over 100 resorts and hotels, most of which are all-inclusive resorts. Furthermore, in 2023, Hyatt continued its growth by acquiring Dream Hotels.
But not all additions are blockbusters. Sometimes, Hyatt looks for properties to fill a specific need in a city.
Ace Hotel New Orleans
When it comes to New Orleans, Hyatt only has a few properties. Hyatt is looking to add another two properties to its portfolio by adding the Ace Hotel and sister property Maison de la Luz.
The Ace Hotel New Orleans opened in 2016 and rapidly became one of the trendiest hotels in the city. At that time, the hotel industry was different, and boutique hotels were not yet mainstream. Independent boutique properties began to appear everywhere and felt distinct from chain hotels, which focused on uniformity and providing a consistent experience.
Since then, every mega-chain has developed its own brands to incorporate boutique hotels into its system. This has made it more challenging for independent hotels to establish a unique identity and loyal customer base while competing against the extensive reach of the competition’s hotels.
According to NOLA.com, employees at the 234-room Ace Hotel and 67-room Maison de la Luz were notified about the change at a staff meeting a few days after hotel supervisors learned of the news.
NOLA.com asked for comments from the hotel and Hyatt but didn’t get a response.
Ace did not respond to a request seeking comment. A Hyatt spokesperson said the company did not have any information to share at this time.
Domain Cos. founder and CEO Matt Schwartz, who developed the hotels in partnership with Ace, declined to discuss the rebrand. But he said an announcement would be made in the coming weeks and that the hotel properties themselves are not being sold.
According to sources, Ace Hotel will become part of Jdv by Hyatt, and Maison de la Luz will become a part of Unbound by Hyatt. There is no timeframe for when the changes will take place.
Final Thought
Currently, Hyatt has only four hotels in New Orleans. We’ve stayed at The Eliza Jane, part of the Unbound Collection. We enjoyed our stay, and the hotel is apparently popular as Hyatt bumped it from Category 4 to 5. Hyatt is looking to expand, and these hotels align with the type of properties they are seeking. These are unique hotels characterized by a strong sense of their location that promises to deliver memorable stays.
If you can’t saturate the market, then your hotels have to be better than the competition. That appears to be Hyatt’s game plan.
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