Hyatt Hotels has launched a new, dedicated lifestyle division, featuring brands including Andaz, Alila, Hyatt Centric, Joie de Vivre Hotels, Thompson Hotels and tommie.

It follows Hyatt’s 2018 acquisition of Two Roads Hospitality, which owned the Alila, Thompson and tommie brands.

The new division will be headed up by Frederic Flageat-Simon, global head of lifestyle operations and former CEO of Two Roads Hospitality Asia, who will be responsible for developing the global operations strategy for Hyatt’s lifestyle brands.

“With the introduction of a dedicated lifestyle division, we’re able to dive deeper into our guests’ preferences and further carve out Hyatt’s role in this important segment,” said Mark Vondrasek, chief commercial officer at Hyatt. 

Separately, Hyatt announced that 21 new luxury hotels and resorts are planned to open in Asia Pacific by the end of 2020, fuelling its brand expansion in the region. 

This expansion is comprised of seven Park Hyatt branded properties, six hotels each under the Grand Hyatt and Andaz brands and two Alila branded resorts, boosting Hyatt’s luxury portfolio in the region by more than 25%.

With this expansion, a record number of seven Park Hyatt hotels are expected to open in under two years – a significant milestone for Hyatt, which adds an average of one Park Hyatt property per year.

The Andaz brand, known to offer immersive cultural experiences, is set to double its footprint in Asia Pacific with new openings in major cities such as Seoul, Dubai (main image) and Shenzhen, alongside resort destinations such as Bali, as well as Sanya and Xiamen in China.

The Alila brand will add two resorts in Malaysia and Oman next year, while the Grand Hyatt brand continues its steady growth momentum with new openings in emerging cities in China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.