The staff of the Hyatt Centric Buckhead Atlanta is focusing on building relationships within the community to help the property stand out after opening its doors in late 2021, General Manager Kristi Cotten-Morris said.
The 218-room, upper-upscale hotel, which opened in December 2021, was initially slated to open in March 2022 but the project was fortunate to avoid setbacks with the supply chain, Cotten-Morris said.
“Between our developers and our ownership and the property level and all of our partners — the construction teams, the design teams — everyone came together in such an incredible way and we were able to open early, which really is a rare story these days,” she said.
That doesn’t mean there weren’t challenges with opening, though. COVID-19 cases began to rise as the omicron variant swept across the U.S. in December. Cotten-Morris said her team made the safety and well-being of guests their top priority, doing their best to understand the comfortability of the customers.
“Anytime there's a situation like that, it brings challenges, but really, it's just meeting the customer where they are and making really thoughtful decisions along the way and working smart,” she said.
As the spring and summer travel seasons heat up, Cotten-Morris said the hotel plans to take advantage of outdoor amenities to generate revenue. The 15th floor features an indoor-outdoor rooftop lounge paired with an outdoor heated plunge pool.
Cotten-Morris, who has spent 26 years in the hospitality industry, including 24 years with Hyatt hotels, spoke about her leadership strategy for the property in a Q&A with HNN.
What do you expect the demand mix will look like for the remainder of the year?
We remain really optimistic of future travel. We do see a positive turn in overall traveler confidence. Our destination specifically has so much to offer, which we feel will create even more enthusiasm for travel.
But I do think the demand for what we kind of considered 'bleisure' travel is really showing positive momentum. Even through engagement with our in-house guests over the past couple of months, we're learning that travelers really want to factor in time for R&R — rest and relaxation — and explore when they're in town on business. So it's almost a mixture of that business/leisure traveler. That's where we're really seeing some positive momentum — in those guests that really just want a great destination to be able to explore shopping, entertainment, all of those things.
How has the Atlanta market been since opening?
The market itself is starting to see nice growth. Similar to other markets, transient is leading the way. We are seeing strong group leads come through, and we're starting to see little green shoots from the business traveler segment.
So I would say overall, consumer confidence is returning. I think there's confidence in the way hotels are operating. Unless we see another variant come through, I do think the Atlanta market specifically is rebounding quite nicely.
What are some of your sales and marketing strategies to stand out in the market?
Hyatt specifically, we take really great pride in building relationships within the communities that we serve. Our team here has done an incredible job reaching out to partners to truly understand how we can support each other and work towards a common goal.
I would also say, speed to market is critical right now. Demand is returning and everyone's fighting for the same dollar. So if I had to say two strategies that I would ask the team to really focus on, those two things: building the relationships and then making sure we're responding to customers quickly.
How are you using your Hyatt brand expertise to attract guests?
Hyatt’s portfolio really consists of premier brands that offer unique positioning for each brand … that really allow us to deliver personalized care and unforgettable experiences. So, being a Centric, we're city center, we're in the center of a unique destination in the middle of the action. We're a launchpad to allow guests to go out and explore through the lens of a local. So we're going to send guests, perhaps, to a bakery in the area that's high performing that only the locals know about or a graffiti wall on this corner because it's just a cool, special art piece.
I think for us, bringing this hotel to life truly started with understanding the center brands. Upon opening and the onboarding of all of our colleagues, we really did a good job putting them through what we call a 'brand immersion,' and they not only understand who we are, but they also learn about all the other sub-brands within Hyatt and what makes us unique and special. And then we really built it together. We came in and we did some design-thinking sessions and we really challenged each other and had so much fun doing it to really come up with some creative ways to bring this hotel to life in this market. And I think we did it really well.
What are your goals for the remainder of the year?
So many. We're new, so we're always going to continue to learn and grow and remain agile. Empathy interviews with guests are really important. We're a new hotel. So what's working and maybe what's not, and then shifting.
Of course there's numbers. Of course, you want to meet your revenue goals. You want to meet your index goals, and you want to do all those things, but for me, it's having strength in all of those areas and balancing that.
It’s the colleague experience and making sure that we're providing them an environment that they can really thrive and be proud to work within the hotel. It’s challenging the sales and events team to really explore different ways to drive revenue and to create awareness. It's making smart decisions operationally, and to make sure that we're working smart and offering value to our customers. So it's really all-encompassing.