Tattoos, Performance Art, and Graffiti: How Luxury Hyatt Hotels Engage Guests with Unforgettable Local Experiences

Luxury travel is on the rise, projected to increase by nearly 9 percent by 2031. In response, Hyatt Hotels is expanding its portfolio, adding over 35 luxury hotels and resorts from Mexico to Malaysia by 2025. The company is also refining each of its luxury lifestyle brands to create unique destination experiences for travelers seeking something special.

The key player? Crystal Vinisse Thomas, the global brand leader for lifestyle and luxury brands based in Los Angeles. Over the past few years, she has been crafting the global positioning strategy for Hyatt’s six lifestyle luxury brands (Park Hyatt, Alila, Thompson, Andaz, Hyatt Centric, Caption by Hyatt). After focusing on Thompson and Andaz, Thomas and her team have collaborated with hotels globally to enhance guest experiences, with her next priority being the iconic Park Hyatt.

Before joining Hyatt, Thomas served as a senior brand marketer for Beats by Dre at Apple, where she managed a partnership with the NBA and All Things Sports. She is a graduate of Cornell University's hotel school and previously worked with Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which merged with Marriott International in 2016.

Thomas and I recently met at a luxury travel conference in Cannes, France, where she shared insights about the exciting plans these hotels have in store for travelers.

This interview has been condensed for brevity.

Can you explain your role at Hyatt?

We establish the strategic vision for these brands—covering their sound, feel, and scent. This encompasses everything from the experiences we design and standardize to the marketing you see in our campaigns. That’s the beauty of branding for me. My career has revolved around building connections with brands and their passionate followers.

Andaz was one of the first brands you were involved with—what can guests anticipate upon arrival?

Andaz translates to “personal style” in Urdu, but we wanted to explore this concept more deeply. For those fluent in Urdu, Andaz conveys much more than mere personal style; it encompasses your true essence, how you present yourself, and the energy you bring into a space. When traveling, you often find the greatest freedom to become who you truly wish to be, or even who you’ve always dreamed of being but didn’t allow yourself to be. Travel provides a unique kind of permission. We embraced this insight and infused it into the Andaz brand. Now, when we refer to Andaz, we mean it as a space where you can freely express yourself in any way you choose.

What are some distinctive experiences that guests can enjoy at Andaz?

One of my favorite experiences is at Andaz Prague, where guests can discover the city’s artistic scene in a fresh way. Graffiti is a prominent art form there, and the hotel offers a graffiti tour led by a well-known local artist. During the tour, we surprise guests by allowing them to tag in legal ‘free to spray’ zones, transforming them into street artists. At Andaz Savannah, we bring in a drag artist who styles guests with hair and makeup for a fabulous day. In New York’s Andaz Fifth Avenue, they collaborate with a tattoo artist. Many contemplate getting a tattoo but never take the plunge. What if I told you a tattoo artist is available right here and now? It’s about offering guests the chance to explore different aspects of themselves. We’re not claiming we’ll fully transform who you are, but we aim to provide the tools to unlock whatever parts of yourself you wish to explore.

Can you share insights about Thompson, a brand you’ve also dedicated significant time to defining?

What I appreciate about Thompson is that when Jason Pomeranc launched it in New York, it was primarily focused on serving his circle of friends. Inclusivity has always been a core value; it doesn’t carry the same exclusivity that some New York venues do, where you might feel out of place. This realization led us to explore further: Thompson is a sanctuary for young creatives who aspire to sophistication while still wanting to feel cool and elevated. Creating an inclusive environment for like-minded individuals is essential for us at Thompson.

Can you share some examples of guest experiences at Thompson?

We have a program called Culture Lives Here that connects emerging creatives. Our latest event took place in New York's Central Park, featuring a collaboration of talents: a playwright, dancer, actor, and poet worked alongside a creative director to present a 30-minute one-man play about Black joy titled Between the Lines. At Thompson Austin, we paired stylist Loreal Sarkisian with Adrian Quesada, a member of the American soul band Black Pumas. Quesada composed a 10-minute piece for a fashion show that she styled, culminating in a performance with a seven-piece band for our guests.

These examples illustrate how we connect guests to the local culture right within our hotel. We strive to curate experiences that unite the creative community, highlight their work, and provide a sanctuary for them, while also giving guests a front-row seat to engage with the creative culture of the destination.

As you turn your attention to Park Hyatt, I know you've conducted extensive research on luxury travelers. What insights have you gained?

Everything begins with a key insight, and for me, the consumer is central to our mission. I want to understand their thoughts, so we conducted a research initiative involving hundreds of high-net-worth individuals to explore their desires, expectations, and how our industry has transformed. We aimed to discover what drives their travel decisions and what expectations they hold.

One major takeaway is that we are moving beyond personalizing travel to offering customization. It’s no longer sufficient to merely personalize my stay by knowing my preferences. I want to have the power or at least the option to influence my stay in real time. For instance, if I usually prefer sparkling water but today want still water, how can I ensure that preference is adjusted instantly?

What sets the Park Hyatt guest experience apart?

From its inception, Park Hyatt was designed to be a home away from home. Founder Jay Pritzker aimed to replicate his living room, where he hosted guests, and extend that warm hospitality to travelers. With that insight, we envision Park Hyatt as a welcoming living room where guests feel at home. The ambiance is contemporary and modern, emphasizing discretion. We will continue to refine our experiences to be increasingly personalized and, more importantly, customized to your evolving preferences. We're excited to implement these changes next year at key locations where Park Hyatt guests have eagerly anticipated our presence—London, Marrakech, Johannesburg, and Cabo.

How do you integrate sustainability and social responsibility into your brand initiatives at Hyatt?

At Hyatt, we have World of Care, which outlines our commitment to conservation, sustainability, and diversity. My focus is on translating these principles to each of my brands. Our research has shown that luxury travelers want to minimize their environmental impact and actively participate in sustainability efforts, and we aim to provide them with that opportunity.

For instance, Alila has always been deeply rooted in its community and dedicated to giving back. From the outset, we aimed to be a good neighbor, which is actually one of our brand’s design principles. At Alila Marea Beach Resort in California, this translates into ocean cleanup initiatives. Alila Marea also collaborates with the Rob Machado Foundation, which teaches surfing while engaging in community efforts like plastic cleanup.

I’d love to learn more about you as a traveler. What’s one travel-related annoyance or pet peeve you wish someone would address?

For me, it all revolves around the consumer journey. It would be incredible if we could connect all the dots along the entire travel experience with our preferred brands to create a seamless transition. From the moment I open my rideshare app to the airline I choose and the hotel I book, how can we bridge those experiences? By the time we arrive at the hotel, sometimes the journey has already influenced the traveler’s experience. Is there a way for us to enhance communication within the industry to craft a more cohesive experience that links all these elements?

What do you enjoy most about working in travel and hospitality?

I cherish the people who dedicate their lives to genuinely caring for others and ensuring they have remarkable experiences. Growing up, my grandmother and great-grandmother always welcomed out-of-town family members, regardless of whether we knew them. At the core of hospitality, there’s something uniquely special about forming connections with others, whether they are strangers or familiar faces.

On the flip side is the travel aspect: exposing people to new experiences, perspectives, and cultures. I didn’t travel much during my childhood, but once I reached college, I discovered that travel could be part of one’s career. I became captivated and passionate about the travel industry. When I stepped away for a while, the thing I missed most was immersing myself in different cultures and exploring the world, as it truly provides a fresh outlook on life. I believe my perspective has deepened because of the places I’ve visited, the people I’ve encountered, and the cultures I’ve engaged with. Few industries offer such enriching opportunities.