It was that time of year again. With Hyatt’s annual internal awards celebration fast approaching, the HR team had to vet the performance of Hyatt properties nominated for being among the best in the company’s portfolio. Sounds like a daunting task — Hyatt has over 500 properties worldwide — but, in reality, there weren’t many applications coming in.

Turns out, awareness about the rewards and recognition program was low among property GMs. For those GMs that did know that the program existed, they didn’t know what it took for a property to be Hotel of the Year — specifically that the HR team was looking for evidence that property leaders lived the company core leadership values.

Our methodology struck a chord with the HR team. They asked us to uncover the stories that embody what it means to be the Hyatt Place Hotel of the Year and to bring those stories to life.To uncover stories of what it means to be Hyatt Place Hotel of the Year, we visited the most recent hotel of the year, Hyatt Place Denver Airport, and conducted interviews with the staff there. We heard amazing stories of guest service and staff camaraderie.

Like that time a repeat guest asked the staff if they would toilet paper his colleague’s room before the colleague checked in later that day. And they did. Everyone had a good laugh, but of course both of those guests only stay at that property now whenever they’re in the area on business.

We developed a story-focused microsite that is one part Rewards and Recognition tool, one part Leadership Development tool. Organized around Hyatt’s core leadership values, the microsite combines custom illustration and interactive clickability to raise awareness of the recognition program and to develop leaders within the organization by showing what it means to live the values.