Hyatt

The first Hyatt House opened in 1954 by entrepreneurs Hyatt Robert von Dehn and Jack Dyer Crouch as a motel near Los Angeles International Airport.[13] In 1957, the hotel was purchased by entrepreneur Jay Pritzker for $2.2 million. His younger brother, Donald Pritzker, also took on an important role in the company. Considering the growing use of air travel for business, the Pritzker brothers realized that locating a high quality hotel near a major airport was a valuable business strategy. Within two years, they opened Hyatt House motels near San Francisco International Airport and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.[14]

In 1967, the company opened their Regency Hyatt House in Atlanta, Georgia (today the Hyatt Regency Atlanta). The futuristic hotel was designed by Atlanta architect John Portman, who would go on to design many other hotels for the chain. It featured a massive indoor atrium, which soon became a distinctive feature of many Hyatt properties.[15]

In 1969, Hyatt opened its first hotel outside the United States, when it was awarded the management contract for the President Hotel in Hong Kong. The President Hotel was renamed the Hong Kong Hyatt Hotel (later known as the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong).[16]

In 1972, Hyatt formed Elsinore Corporation, a subsidiary to operate the Four Queens Hotel and Casino and the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa & Casino. After Hyatt became a private company in 1979, Elsinore was spun off as a public company. The company opened the Playboy Hotel and Casino as a joint venture with Playboy Enterprises.[17][18]

Donald died in 1972 and Jay continued to run the company.[19]

The Hyatt Regency brand is the oldest brand in the company, with the Grand Hyatt and Park Hyatt brands being introduced in 1980. Some of these are styled as "resort" properties, and may have spas or other recreational facilities. One of the first of these was the Hyatt Regency Maui in 1980.[20]

In June 2004, substantially all of the hospitality assets owned by Pritzker family business interests, including Hyatt Corporation and Hyatt International Corporation, were consolidated under a single entity called Global Hyatt Corp. On June 30, 2009, Global Hyatt Corporation changed its name to Hyatt Hotels Corporation.[21]

In December 2004, Hyatt Hotels Corporation acquired AmeriSuites, an upscale chain of all-suite business class hotels from affiliates of the Blackstone Group, a New York-based private equity investment firm. Blackstone had inherited AmeriSuites from its 2004 acquisition of Prime Hospitality.[10] The AmeriSuites chain was rebranded and called Hyatt Place, a competitor to the limited-service products Marriott International's Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton Worldwide's Hilton Garden Inn.

In December 2005, Hyatt acquired limited service company Summerfield Suites from the Blackstone Group. Blackstone had inherited Summerfield Suites from its purchase of Wyndham International. In January 2012, Hyatt Summerfield Suites were rebranded as Hyatt House in 2012 to compete in the "upscale extended stay market" against Residence Inn, Homewood Suites, and Staybridge Suites.[22]

Hyatt launched the Andaz brand in April 2007.[23] The first Andaz hotel was the Great Eastern Hotel in London, followed by hotels in San Diego, West Hollywood, Shanghai[24] and New York City (Andaz Wall Street & Andaz 5th Avenue).

In August 2009, it was reported that Hyatt Hotels Corporation filed plans to raise up to $1.15 billion in an initial share sale. That November Hyatt completed an initial public offering and began trading publicly on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol H.[25] According to the filing Mark S. Hoplamazian was to serve as CEO and Thomas Pritzker as Executive Chairman.[26] The public offering was a result of the acrimonious breakup of the Pritzker family empire. Accused of looting family trusts, Thomas and cousins Penny and Nicholas took control of the family businesses when they and other family members were sued by cousin Liesel Pritzker, claiming fraud and seeking damages of over US$6 billion.[27]

On September 1, 2011, Hyatt acquired Hotel Sierra, which had 18 properties in 10 states. Along with Hyatt Summerfield Suites hotels, several of these properties were rebranded as Hyatt house in January 2012.[28]

The Grand Hyatt Hotel in Istanbul

On November 2013, Hyatt introduced their first all-inclusive resort brands, Ziva and Hyatt Zilara, with the first resorts being opened in Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos and Rose Hall, Montego Bay, Jamaica.

As of 31 December 2014, Hyatt Corporation's worldwide portfolio consisted of 587 properties.[29]

As of 30 November 2015 Hyatt had over 627 hotels worldwide.[30]

On October 28, 2015, Hyatt announced that they were in advanced talks to acquire Starwood Hotels in a cash and stock transaction. The transaction was not completed, and Starwood was acquired by Marriott International instead. [31]

On November 14, 2016, Hyatt and Bahria Town Group signed an agreement for construction of four properties in Pakistan, combined worth US$600 million. Properties include the Grand Hyatt Golf Resort on Murree Expressway in Islamabad, Hyatt Regency Golf Resort in Bahria Town Karachi, Hyatt Regency in Lahore, and Hyatt Regency in Bahria Town Rawalpindi. The Hyatt Regency Karachi features Pakistan's first night-lit 36-hole golf.[32]

In 2018, Hyatt saw expansion with the acquisition of Two Roads Hotels. This added the Joie de Vivre, Destination, Alila, and Thompson hotel brands to the Hyatt portfolio - a growth of 85 hotels in 23 markets.[33]

On December 6, 2018, Hyatt signed a contract with Kastrati Group to manage MAK Albania Hotel (former Sheraton Tirana) in Tirana, Albania. The hotel will be branded as Hyatt Regency and Residences Tirana.[34]

Hyatt Place logo

Grand Hyatt logo

The interior atrium at Hyatt Regency New Orleans

Hyatt-branded properties have traditionally catered to upscale or business customers; its properties were either full-service or boutique hotels. In 1980, Hyatt added the Grand Hyatt and Park Hyatt brands to its portfolio. In 1995, Hyatt entered the vacation ownership market. Hyatt introduced the Hyatt Place brand, designed as a limited service offering for business travelers, in 2006. Hyatt House was Hyatt's first select-service property, catering primarily to travelers with long-term stays and at a more economical price point. Since then, Hyatt has added a wide range of other brands, especially in the lifestyle and resort segments.[9]

Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, one of Grand Hyatt's largest hotels with over 1600 rooms

Hyatt categorizes its brands under three categories: Timeless Portfolio (containing Hyatt's classic brands), Boundless Portfolio (lifestyle brands) and Independent Collections (soft-branded independent properties). Two additional upscale lifestyle brands, tommie and Caption, have been announced and will be joining the portfolio once the first properties open.

• Atlanta: The Hyatt Regency Atlanta, the first Hyatt Regency hotel, was built in 1967 and was the first contemporary atrium hotel in the world. As of 2014 it was the only major downtown Atlanta hotel with a front drive on Peachtree Street. Architect John Portman designed the building.
• Austin: The Driskill is the oldest operating hotel in Austin, Texas, and a member of Historic Hotels of America.
• Beijing: The Grand Hyatt Beijing opened in 2001 in Beijing city, followed by the Park Hyatt Beijing in 2008.
• Birmingham: The Hyatt Regency Birmingham opened in 1990.
• Carlsbad: The Aviara opened in 2010, is a Forbes Five Star & AAA Five Diamond resort.
• Chennai: Hyatt Regency Chennai and Park Hyatt Chennai
• Chicago: With 2,019 rooms, the Hyatt Regency Chicago is the seventh-largest hotel in the world, with the largest freestanding bar in the world.
• Colombo: The Hyatt Regency Colombo (now Grand|Hyatt Colombo) which is under construction is the first Hyatt hotel in Sri Lanka.
• Dallas: The Hyatt Regency Dallas, built in 1978, is most notable for its association with the iconic Dallas landmark Reunion Tower. Originally freestanding, the base of the tower was integrated into the ground floor of the hotel after an expansion project in 1998.
• Denpasar/Bali: Grand Hyatt Bali Hotel is a resort in Nusa Dua, Bali.
• Hong Kong: The Grand Hyatt Hong Kong is a luxury Hyatt hotel in Hong Kong, and the Asian flagship of Hyatt International. The Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Sha Tin and Hyatt Regency Hong Kong are also five-star hotels in Hong Kong.
• Jacksonville: The Hyatt Regency Jacksonville opened in 2001 under the Adam's Mark brand. Ownership of the riverfront hotel changed along with the name in 2005. With 966 rooms, it is the largest hotel in North Florida.
• Jakarta: Grand Hyatt Jakarta opened in 1991 and is adjacent to Plaza Indonesia. Park Hyatt Jakarta inaugurated in 2018 in Menteng.
• Kansas City, Missouri: Initially named the Hyatt Regency Kansas City, the atrium walkways collapsed in 1981, killing 114. The hotel has since been renamed Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center and remains in operation.
• Kuala Lumpur: Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur - located next to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center and opened in 2012, marking the return of the chain to the Malaysian capital city (since the Hyatt Regency Saujana near Subang Airport changed management in 2004 and became The Saujana Kuala Lumpur).
• London: Andaz London Liverpool Street, built in 1884 and formerly known as the Great Eastern Hotel, was the only hotel in the City of London from 1884 until the 1980s.[35]
• Los Angeles
  • Hollywood: The Continental Hyatt Hotel (now Andaz West Hollywood) was in the movie Almost Famous starring Kate Hudson (2000), and its pool has featured in several films including This is Spinal Tap (1984).
  • Park Hyatt Hotel in Century City (now rebranded as InterContinental Hotel) was the scene of the "6th floor into swimming pool" scene in the 1989 movie Lethal Weapon 2 starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover.
  • Century Plaza Hotel, operated by Hyatt from 2006 to 2016, is listed among the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 11 most endangered historic places in America. It closed for renovations in 2016 and is due to reopen in 2020 as the Fairmont Century Plaza.[36]
• Manila: Grand Hyatt Manila, the first supertall building in the Philippines (318m)
• Mumbai: Grand Hyatt Hotel, Mumbai was designed by Chicago's Lohan Associates and opened in 2004.
• New Delhi: Hyatt Regency Delhi The Hyatt Regency Delhi is a luxury hotel in New Delhi, India, built in 1983.
• New York City: Grand Hyatt New York
• San Francisco: The Hyatt Regency San Francisco formerly provided a rooftop revolving restaurant called Equinox, offering 360-degree views of the city and the bay. The restaurant became an elite club for certain hotel guests only and it no longer rotates. This hotel was sold for close to $200 million to Dune Capital Management and DiNapoli Capital Partners in January 2007, about $250,000 per room.[37] The property was used several times as a filming location, including for Irwin Allen's 1974 disaster film The Towering Inferno, the 1977 Mel Brooks comedy High Anxiety, Don Siegel's 1977 spy thriller Telefon, and the 1979 science fiction thriller Time After Time.
• Seattle: Hyatt Regency Seattle is the largest hotel in the Pacific Northwest, with 1,260 rooms
• Taipei: Grand Hyatt Taipei is the only Hotel operated by Hyatt Corporation in Taipei.
• Tokyo: The Park Hyatt Tokyo

Hyatt operates a loyalty program called World of Hyatt, which replaced Gold Passport on March 1, 2017.[42]

Hyatt's partnership with MGM Resorts International allows members who join both companies' loyalty programs - World of Hyatt and Mlife, respectively - to "status match" (i.e., match their lower status in one of the programs to the higher tier achieved in the other), and then earn points and credits, as well as avail themselves of the perqs and partnerships associated with the higher, matched status in both programs.[43][44][45][46]

In 2018, Hyatt also began partnering with select properties in the SLH (Small Luxury Hotels of the World) chain, which allows World of Hyatt members to earn and redeem points during their stays at participating SLH properties.[47]

In October 2018, Hyatt announced their purchase of Two Roads Hospitality, a lifestyle hotel management company, for a base purchase price of $480 million. Hyatt will take the management controls of 85 properties of Two Road's across eight countries. All the hotels have joined the World of Hyatt loyalty programme in 2019.[11]

Fortune magazine ranked Hyatt #32 on its list of "America's Best Companies to Work For" in 2019.[48] The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has awarded the company 100% in the HRC Equality Index for more than ten years, last in 2020.[49][50]

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