Hyatt CEO Wants to Woo the Global Middle Class
Photo Credit: The Hyatt Place brand, pictured here, is part of Hyatt's strategy to lure more of the growing global middle class into its portfolio. Flickr / Innisfree Hotels
Skift Take
Hyatt knows that its business is heavily skewed towards affluent and experienced travelers and it's done well to establish itself as a dominant player in many gateway destinations. But the combination of hotel consolidation and a rising middle class has made it think differently about how and where it wants to position itself.
Luxury has increasingly become a flashpoint in hospitality but some hoteliers, including Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian, realize that they can't ignore the growing global middle class that includes more than three billion people.
Income inequality and how the travel industry can bring the working and middle classes into the fold were both top-of-mind for travel executives and political leaders at the World Travel & Tourism Council Global Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina last week. Hospitality executives such as Hoplamazian have brought more luxury and lifestyle brands into their portfolios in recent years, but are also considering how to reach more middle-income travelers.
Hoplamazian said the middle class, which he refers to as the commercial or consuming class, includes people traveling for business but also with their families. "These are people who are working,
