Last summer Hyatt acquired Standard International which includes Standard Hotels which began joining World of Hyatt in May but also included Bunkhouse Hotels – and a seven store coffee shop chain.
Seven Bunkhouse hotels have join dates now for World Of Hyatt, with the first starting today.
- July 16: Hotel Saint Cecilia, Austin (Category 7)
- July 17: Hotel St Augustine, Houston (Category 6)
- July 23: Hotel San Jose, Austin (Category 5), Austin Motel, Austin (Category 5), Carpenter Motel, Austin (Category 5)
- August 6: Hotel San Cristobal, Todos Santos, Mexico (Category 7), Hotel San Fernando, Mexico City, Mexico (Category 4)
Each of these Bunkhouse properties is participating in the program for points-earning and redemption, status-earning and as part of this new Hyatt brand for earning Brand Explorer category 1-4 free nights (a free night for every 5 brands you stay in for the first time).
This is an interesting, eclectic collection of properties! The Austin Motel is one of the most iconic spots in town. On South Congress about a mile from downtown, its motto is “So Close Yet So Far Out.”
It’s legitimately a motel and room rates run $150 – $250 or more.
It’s a 41-room 1930s-era motor lodge with neon sign that attracts locals to its pool with day passes. And, since Austin really isn’t centered around a downtown, it’s actually quite a good location for tourists. The property maintains the ‘Keep Austin Weird’ vibe of the early-2010s (from long before the Californians arrived during the pandemic).
I recall four other hotels being part of Bunkhouse – Hotel Magdalena in Austin; Hotel Havana in San Antonio; Phoenix Hotel in San Francisco and Hotel Genevieve in Louisville – that are not listed in the rollout. I’ve inquired with Hyatt about their status.
Ultimately, I’d really love to see Hyatt find ways to do something with Jo’s Coffee. The South Congress Jo’s is one of the most iconic spots in Austin where every tourist stops for a photo.
I lived across the street from a Jo’s when I first moved to Austin. The Migas were good, the coffee was fine, and it would be nice to earn bonus points! They could do skip-the-line for Globalists!
Now that Hyatt has a coffee brand, they could improve the coffee in many of their hotels? Or get their partner American Airlines to replace the onboard Fresh Brew!
Good to see Hyatt is monetizing the homeless camps in the Austin area. Gary can have a cup of Hyatt coffee while listening to a homeless meth addict scream incoherently at the cicadas humming in the live oaks.
lol Foghorn Leghorn (hilarious character, BTW)
The AUSTIN MOTEL sign resembles several NSFW items, also lol
The Phoenix Hotel is closing for good. This is thanks to SF’s asinine homeless friendly policies that have destroyed the neighborhood that it’s in.
Since you have a contact at Hyatt, could you please ask about The Standard Brussels? It is not currently part of World of Hyatt and when I asked the hotel about it, the very nice response was it was under internal debate and it may never be part of WoH, which seems odd since Hyatt bought the chain.
@Quo Vadis — Speaking of Austin (Powers)… “it looks like a giant.. it looks like a huge… it looks like someone’s… it has a long, smooth shaft, complete with… it looks just like an enormous…”
Ya know what? I would love to see more kitschy motels preserved. We need a sense of continuity in our road travel history.
@Maryland — Agreed, even if I don’t stay in one myself. Pretty cool.
@1990 @Quo Vadis — One-eyed monster!
when you visit Austin there’s a legendary Texas hotel you might consider, it’s been on 6th Street since 1886, that’s not a typo, the Driskill “the finest hotel S of St. Louis!”, last visit I think Hyatt was operating it. It’s what hotels were a century ago, modernized perfectly. If its walls could talk, at one time it had tours that told some of the tales. Of course, it has an LBJ Suite! And, further down 6th Street is what Mama’s tell their kids headed to UT to stay away from, in Texas-talk “it’s plumb vulgar!”
@gary. Carpenter HOTEL. At minimum they should have had the Austin Motel at a cat 4.