Modern business travelers often seek their personal and professional growth opportunities while far from home. These high-performance professionals are the core target of the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands.
The majority of business travelers aim to be as productive when traveling as they are in the office. Where they stay is pivotal to meeting this need, yet they often don't align their choice of accommodations with their productivity. Business travelers have an overwhelming amount of options when it comes to choosing a hotel. With hectic schedules that leave little time to plan, where to stay is sometimes the last thing business travelers have on their mind. Additionally, they are often underwhelmed by experiences in the Select Service hotel category.
To address this, in 2016 the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands launched their first-ever dual-branded marketing campaign - "You've Come Too Far to Settle Now" - to create deeper connections with business travelers and reinforce that they don't have to settle for less when choosing a Select Service hotel.
In 2018, the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands launched a new, enhanced version of this campaign that set out to further understand today's business travelers who never settle for "good enough" and embody the "Why Settle" spirit before, during and after their stays. This insight served as the crux of the brands' expanded campaign strategy, to further deliver on those needs of business travelers and reward them for an unwavering commitment to personal and professional betterment while on the road.
The Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands set out to connect with these road warriors and better understand what motivates them professionally and personally during their travels. Through a comprehensive Business Traveler Survey to 1,500+ frequent business travelers in the U.S., China and India, the brands found new ways to reshape the travel experience to better suit guests' needs for productivity, flexibility and hospitality. The survey found that more than 95 percent of Americans prefer a business hotel that provides quick service; staying connected to friends and family when traveling is a top priority for 83 percent of frequent business travelers; and 77 percent of U.S. business travelers believe being on the road has taught them skills they can use when facing challenges in their personal life.
To honor the hard-working individuals who never settle when it comes to work or supporting those they love, the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands launched the #WhySettle Spirit Awards with categories tailored to three distinct personas embodying the #WhySettle spirit:
To bring the campaign to life, the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands created four videos encouraging fearless business professionals who embody the #WhySettle spirit to apply. Each video was promoted on the brands' YouTube and Facebook channels. During the contest promotion period, eligible contestants entered by logging into their Facebook accounts, clicking a link to the contest application housed on the Hyatt Place Facebook page, and submitting a 300-word essay that captured how the nominee personifies their distinct #WhySettle spirit persona. One winner from each category was selected and awarded 10 free nights at any Hyatt Place or Hyatt House hotel.
Further, the brands teamed up with Road Warrior, Bill Rancic, who conducted an exclusive Facebook Live event aimed at addressing pertinent questions surrounding entrepreneurism and business travel alongside Steven Dominguez, vice president of global brands, Hyatt Place and Hyatt House. Additionally, Rancic participated in a robust satellite media tour to share key survey stats and travel tips with viewers.
To celebrate the #WhySettle Spirit Award winners and unveil survey findings, Rancic hosted a survey launch happy hour event at Hyatt House Chelsea where winners shared personal travel tips with media attendees. All event attendees participated in travel and wellness themed activities and received custom luggage tags, which captured each individual's personal #WhySettle spirit. In addition, attendees received gifts such as a subscription to mindfulness meditation app, Headspace, and a portable charger to maximize productivity while on the road. Each gift was adorned with a related survey stat gift tag. To continue the conversation, survey stats were shared on social media via campaign-related storylines, interactive GIFs and an infographic the brands developed from the survey results.
