Hotel Brands - Andaz

Hyatt Hotels announced its newest brand "Andaz" yesterday with a view to focussing on "personal style and independence, the new brand will offer a highly functional environment characterized by sophistication, innovative design, local identity, casual elegance and service that is attentive but not pretentious and without ‘attitude’". While the word is supposedly derived from Hindustani (from India) and means "personal style", it helps when launching a new brand in this internet age to begin with the letter A. A marquee name like Hyatt needs no lessons on brand launching particularly in a robust hospitality climate like today but the brand appears to promise a melange of intangibles that may well be difficult to sustain - only time will tell.