The Big Easy can be difficult, but for Hyatt Hotels, an ace up its sleeve allowed it to ease into one of New Orleans’ buzziest corners, pulling two high-profile assets into its luxury and lifestyle arsenal.
Situated on the corner of Carondelet Street is The Barnett, part of JdV by Hyatt, a 1928 Art Deco building that was once the Barnett’s Furniture building. Right next door is Maison Métier, now part of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt. Two hotels, two decidedly different vibes, at two distinct price points. If The Barnett is a communal atmosphere for the local artistic community—sprinkled in with the in-and-out leisure traveler looking for downtown accommodations and a place to accrue or burn some World of Hyatt points—partial to a solid coffee experience, lively F&B scene and rooms that could double as a set for a hardboiled detective film (SMEG refrigerators included), Maison Métier is the sybaritic hideaway fit for The Vampire Lestat, where privacy and seclusion are absolute and the 67 rooms, designed by Studio Shamshiri, scream Parisian guesthouse rather than stock hotel: It’s sultry, seductive, an ideal setting for a novel from native daughter Anne Rice.
Though each property has a bygone appeal, they are new to the Hyatt portfolio. Both joined Hyatt in June 2024 when their owner, The Domain Companies, pulled the plug on an eight-year relationship with Ace Hotels Group, which ran both properties as Ace Hotel New Orleans (The Barnett) and Maison de la Luz (Maison Métier). Both are now managed by HRI Hospitality.
Though both The Domain Companies and Hyatt declined to comment, speculation is that key money, a payment made by a hotel operator or franchisor to a hotel owner to secure a management or franchise agreement, and an instrument that has become more frequently deployed in recent times due to macroeconomic and capital market constraints, was employed in this deal.
For Hyatt, extracting two hotels of their caliber was a coup; prior, it had five hotels in the city and one falling under the Mr & Mrs Smith collection. “We recognized an opportunity to expand our lifestyle and luxury offerings to meet growing demand,” said Dan Hansen, head of Americas development at Hyatt. “Working with Domain on this deal was a natural fit, as The Barnett aligns with the vibrant, community-driven ethos of the JdV by Hyatt brand, while Maison Métier embodies the independent spirit and refined character of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt.”
This is especially true in a climate where hotel companies are turning to reflags and conversions as a mode of net-unit growth with new development still stymied by stubbornly high interest rates and expensive constructive costs. “In today’s capital-constrained environment, conversions have become a key driver of NUG,” Hansen said.
Crescent City Éclat
Hyatt ticked all the boxes with The Barnett and Maison Métier. New Orleans is a city that constantly reinvents itself, but its rich heritage, steeped in music and food, lends itself to the city’s bonhomie and is what keeps people flocking in droves. It’s also an event mecca, from Mardi Gras to Super Bowl (its hosted the big game 11 times). In 2023, New Orleans reported close to 18 million visitors.
Unlike the splendor of the Garden District or the frenetic French Quarter, The Barnett and Maison Métier sit in the city’s central business district, which though has a downtown feel, certainly is not staid. Contiguous to the hotels is Gallier Hall, the former city hall of New Orleans, while a block away is Virgin Hotels New Orleans. The area deftly blends the new and the old.
Maison Métier has a long, storied history. Originally built as an annex to Gallier Hall, what’s now the hotel’s Salon Salon bar and lounge was at one time the Louisiana State Bar Association library. Tammy Pati, Maison Métier’s hotel manager, shared that it was once considered a “good ole boys” gathering place, where lawyers, judges and politicians got tight on generous pours of scotch and puffed big cigars.
“Both hotels celebrate the culture and the uniqueness of New Orleans,” Pati said, each in unique ways. The Barnett, she conveyed, is celebratory, encompassing the music, the food, the cocktails and the art of New Orleans. “That customer really is a creative adventure-seeker.”
The Barnett’s merrymaking mood is matched at Maison Métier, but it’s more subtle and discreet. Just consider the front door: only guests of the hotel are allowed entrance. (No names provided, but it’s a frequent choice for famous actors, entertainment moguls and white-collar CEOs in town for events. Pati refers to the hotel as a choice for those not looking for a traditional luxury experience, found at nearby properties, such as The Roosevelt New Orleans, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel.) Suites during high season sell for well over $1,500 per night. Suites at The Barnett over the same period can run just north of $1,000 per night.
In the Hyatt Holster
The Unbound Collection by Hyatt is a portfolio of what Hyatt refers to as “unique and independent hotels, offering a diverse range of upper-upscale and luxury experiences.” JdV by Hyatt, meanwhile, a brand Hyatt adopted when it acquired Two Roads Hospitality in 2018, also boasts independent hotels, but at a more approachable price point. One of the reasons many hotel owners decide to pair with a large lodging company, like Hyatt, is to tap into its vast distribution platform and loyalty program. And while The Barnett doesn’t look too different design wise from its prior iteration as an Ace Hotel (that’s on purpose), a World of Hyatt placard prominently placed at the check-in desk reminds guests of the big brand family. World of Hyatt has around 50 million members worldwide.
Pati said that is where she sees the biggest difference. Maison Métier receives a large amount of Globalist members, World of Hyatt’s highest traveler tier. She said the affiliation with Hyatt has also generated more family bookings at both properties.
Changing flags typically triggers a property improvement plan to pull the hotel more in line with the brand. In the case of The Barnett, the renovation is not monumental. As Pati explained it, both the first and second rounds are soft, having begun with guestroom paint jobs to lighten up the spaces, which will be followed up by some FF&E changeouts later this summer. Beyond that, outlets were renamed, like Brutto Americano, the flagship restaurant at The Barnett. (All Good, the hotel’s cafe, recently swapped out Ace holdover Stumptown coffee for local brew from Mammoth Coffee Company.)
Most of Maison Métier has been preserved and held over given the unique character of the building and interior design. “It’s so thoughtfully curated,” Pati said of the hotel. It’s really like an archive in a museum.” The hotel has looked to elevate the guest experience and amenities. Elemental changes have been renaming Bar Marilou to Salon Salon, but the space retains its clandestine charm and cache of top-shelf spirits. It was reanimated in partnership with Paris’ Quixotic Projects.
“The great thing about Hyatt is that when they acquire a property as unique as this, they really don’t come in and dilute it heavily,” Pati said. Upon Hyatt’s assumption of Maison Métier, it sent the hotel a list of brand standards and potential changes. Those soon were abandoned. “They did the walkthrough and were like, ‘Don’t change anything,’” Pati said.
She sees it as the best kind of scenario, where the hotel gets the backing of Hyatt with the ability to tap into its loyalty program and sales channels. “We get all the benefits, but they let us remain unique,” she said.
New Orleans Misconstrued
New Orleans has always been defined as a party town and, sure, it’s true: No cities do revelry and carousing better. Like Las Vegas, the city has endeavored to cast itself as more than that; it’s something New Orleans & Company, the city’s CVB, has led. As Pati tells it, beyond Bourbon Street, New Orleans is less bacchanalian and much more rooted in culture and family. “We’ve long been branded as a party location,” she said, with nothing for kids, for example, to do. “If you dig down into the cultural fiber of New Orleans, it’s so family oriented. I tell guests, if you’re coming here for Mardi Gras, that’s an adult experience. Every other neighborhood in the city is family oriented.”
New Orleans will always be a convivial, festive town, as it should be. For its hospitality industry, the biggest challenges are the dog days of summer, when it is excruciatingly hot, and the city’s lack of heavy and perennial business travel. “We don’t have Fortune 500 companies coming here,” Pati said. “We don’t have a lot of business travel opportunities to fill those weekdays.”
What New Orleans lacks is more than made up for in its bounty of gifts. Laissez les bons temps rouler. Hyatt has.
