Meeting with Hyatt
Boulder is the best place to start a company! I repeat these words every so often when somebody in the Boulder entrepreneurial community goes out of their way to lend a helping hand or make an introduction. It happens a lot, and it often occurs with no preemptive outreach on my part. This was the case a few weeks ago when John Ives emailed David Cohen with an introduction for the Travelfli Team. We didn’t know John very well but he saw our team present at the Boulder Techstars event and in the spirit of the community, reached out to make an introduction.
John went to college with Jeff Zidell, the Vice President of Gold Passport at Hyatt. He contacted Jeff directly on our behalf and then encouraged us to get a hold of him to talk about Travelfli. It just so happened that were making our way out Chicago for the airline/hotel loop, and Jeff was just the person we were hoping to meet!
Dan and I met Jeff at the Hyatt Center, which is located in downtown Chicago and is the headquarters for Global Hyatt Corporation. When we entered the building, we were met with a dramatic backdrop of dark wood and contemporary design. It was warm and inviting with an air of sophistication and style. It was the perfect depiction of the Hyatt brand, which is comprised of several chains of the hotel including the Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt and Park Hyatt. The Hyatt Place is designed for business travelers and Summerfield Suites in their extended stay chain. They also recently launched a sub brand boutique chain called Andaz.
We had a very interesting meeting with Jeff, due in part to the fact that he is an American Airlines veteran. He provided the unique opportunity to give us an airline and a hotel perspective on our business. Jeff has only been with Hyatt for 6 months and the entire team is relatively new. They are focused on ways to insure that the Gold Passport rewards program remains one of the best in the industry, such as adding a co-branded credit card. Jeff didn’t see any downside in their participation with Travelfli’s service. In fact, he volunteered to set up meetings with other folks in distribution to get the partnership rolling. We’re thrilled at the opportunity to work with Hyatt and can’t thank Jeff enough for meeting with us.
Krista & Jeff Zidell
Side note: Hyatt was the first hotel brand to launch a social networking site for their Hyatt Gold Passport members. Yatt’it is a place where members can share tips and information on destinations across the globe. Check it out.
