Hyatt Hotels Corporation is an American multinational owner, operator, and franchiser of hotels, resorts, and vacation properties. The Hyatt Corporation came into being upon purchase of the Hyatt House, at Los Angeles International Airport, on September 27, 1957. As of September 30, 2016, Hyatt has 679 properties in 54 countries. In 2017, Fortune magazine listed Hyatt as the 32nd-best U.S. company to work for.
The original owners were entrepreneurs Hyatt Robert von Dehn and Jack Dyer Crouch; after a few years, Von Dehn sold his share in the hotel to entrepreneur Jay Pritzker. Jay's younger brother Donald Pritzker also took on an important role in the company.
Over the following decade, acquisitions were made, and Hyatt became the fastest-growing hotel chain in the United States. Donald died in 1972; Jay continued to run the company.
In 1969, Hyatt opened its first hotel outside the United States, the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong. In 1980 the Grand Hyatt and Park Hyatt brands were introduced. Hyatt runs resort hotels, starting with the Hyatt Regency Maui in 1980. As of 30 November 2015 Hyatt had over 627 hotels worldwide.
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.
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 Corporation. On June 30, 2009, Global Hyatt Corporation changed its name to Hyatt Hotels Corporation.
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. 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. According to a Hyatt press release, in January 2012 Hyatt Summerfield Suites were rebranded as Hyatt House to compete in the "upscale extended stay market" against Residence Inn, Homewood Suites and Staybridge Suites.
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. According to the filing Mark S. Hoplamazian was to serve as CEO and Thomas Pritzker as Executive Chairman. The public offering is 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.
As of 31 December 2014 Hyatt Corporation's worldwide portfolio consisted of 587 properties. On September 1, 2011, Hyatt acquired Hotel Sierra, which has 18 properties in 10 states. Along with Hyatt Summerfield Suites hotels, several of these properties were rebranded as Hyatt house in January 2012.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation operates several chains. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) awarded the company 100% in the HRC Equality Index for eight consecutive years. 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. Other brands include Hyatt Place, designed as a limited service offering for business travelers. An extended stay chain, Summerfield Suites, was acquired by Hyatt in 2005, and was renamed Hyatt House in January 2012. Hyatt launched the Andaz brand in April 2007. The first Andaz hotel was the Great Eastern Hotel in London, followed by hotels in San Diego, West Hollywood, Shanghai and New York City (Andaz Wall Street & Andaz 5th Avenue).
On November 2013 Hyatt introduced their first all-inclusive resort brands, Ziva and Hyatt Zilara. As of 2015, Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara offer all inclusive accommodations in Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos and Rose Hall, Montego Bay, Jamaica.
On October 28, 2015, Hyatt announced that they were in advanced talks to acquire Starwood Hotels in the coming weeks in a cash and stock transaction. The transaction was not completed, and Starwood was acquired by Marriott International instead.
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 will feature Pakistan’s first night-lit 36-hole golf.
Park Hyatt are residential luxury Hyatt hotels, mid-sized hotels in cities considered premier destinations.Andaz hotels are upscale lifestyle boutique-style hotels.Grand Hyatt hotels are large luxury hotels in major cities and holiday destinations.Hyatt Regency is Hyatt's flagship hotel brand that are mid to large scaled premium hotels intended for both leisure and business travelers, including those attending conventions, located in urban, suburban, airport, convention and resort destinations around the world.Hyatt hotels are smaller full-service hotels with 150 to 350 rooms located close to major business centers.Hyatt Centric is a new, full service lifestyle brand designed for business and leisure travelers.Hyatt Place hotels are mid-sized hotels catering for families.Hyatt House (formerly known as Hyatt Summerfield Suites or Summerfield Suites by Wyndham and Hotel Sierra) properties are extended-stay residential hotels and smaller-to-mid-sized modern hotels in urban and suburban locations in the United States.Hyatt Zilara and Hyatt Ziva hotels are all-inclusive resorts. Zilara does not accommodate children.Hyatt Residence Club are timeshare properties with the same service as the Hyatt brand.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, 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.Boston: The 502-room Hyatt Regency Boston is in the original hotel component of the former Lafayette Place Mall in Boston's Downtown Crossing retail-office district.Chicago: With 2,019 rooms, The Hyatt Regency Chicago is the seventh-largest non-gaming 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.Dalian: Grand Hyatt Dalian opened in 2014. Situated at the Xinghai Square.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.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), and the 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.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, Shatin and Hyatt Regency Hong Kong are also 5-star hotels in Hong Kong.Jakarta: Grand Hyatt Jakarta is a five-star hotel in Jakarta's business district, adjacent to Plaza Indonesia.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 at Crown Center and remains in operation.Kathmandu:Hyatt Regency,one of the best and luxurious hotels in Nepal and one among the five star hotels of Nepal.Los Angeles: Century Plaza Hotel, one of the 11 endangered historic sitesManila: The Hyatt City of Dreams Manila is the only remaining Hyatt branded hotel in Metro Manila after the first Hyatt Hotel and Casino in Roxas Boulevard was sold to New World Hotel. The Hyatt City of Dreams Manila is one of the 3 five-star hotels (Nobu Manila and Crown Towers) located at City of Dreams Manila, Entertainment City, Philippines.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 YorkOrlando: Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress opened in 1984 as the first luxury resort in Orlando. The 18-story atrium hotel is part of a 1,500-acre resort including four golf courses and a lagoon swimming pool with a swinging bridge and a rock grotto.Sanya: Park Hyatt Hyatt Sanya Sunny Bay Resort the first Hyatt branded hotel to open in the resort island of Hainan China in 2015 It is one of the 2 five-star hotels (Andaz Sunny Bay is scheduled to open in 2016) located in Sunny Bay.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. The property was used several times as a filming location, including Irwin Allen's 1974 disaster film The Towering Inferno, the 1977 Mel Brooks comedy High Anxiety, Don Siegel's spy thriller Telefon of the same year, and the 1979 science fiction thriller Time After Time.Seoul: The Grand Hyatt Seoul opened in 1978 as Hyatt Regency Seoul and is one of the oldest Hyatts in Asia. Is the only fully Hyatt-owned hotel in the Asia-Pacific. The hotel is in Seoul's Namsan area, where further development is not allowed.Shanghai: The Park Hyatt Shanghai occupies the 79th - 93rd floors of the Shanghai World Financial Center, and the Grand Hyatt Shanghai occupies the 53rd to 87th floors of the Jin Mao Tower, and are two of the highest hotels in the world.Tokyo: The Park Hyatt Tokyo appeared in the 2003 movie Lost in Translation.Yogyakarta: Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta is a five-star hotel in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia.United States – The Hyatt Regency Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri, was the site of one of the worst hotel disasters in U.S. history. On July 17, 1981, two of the three skybridges that traversed the hotel's lobby collapsed during a tea dance. The walkways were packed with people when a structural failure occurred, causing one bridge, which was hung from the bridge above it, to pull both bridges loose from the ceiling and collapse. The accident killed 114 people and injured over 200. The hotel was later renamed the Hyatt Regency Crown Center.Philippines – The Hyatt Terraces Baguio in the northern city of Baguio collapsed after a July 16, 1990, earthquake.Israel – On October 17, 2001, Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi was assassinated in the Jerusalem Hyatt Regency on Mount Scopus.Australia – The 2002 Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) was held March 2–5, 2002, at the former Hyatt Regency Coolum (now Palmer Coolum Resort) on the Sunshine Coast at Coolum.United States – During Hurricane Katrina (August 23–31, 2005), the Hyatt Regency New Orleans received significant damage as almost all of its windows were blown out and the bottom floor was torn apart by flood damage. The hotel is located in the Central Business District and reopened October 19, 2011.Jordan – On November 9, 2005, the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Amman, Jordan, was targeted by a series of coordinated terrorist attacks along with a Radisson SAS and a Days Inn hotel.Australia – The 2006 G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors was held at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne between November 18 and November 19, 2006.Trinidad & Tobago – The Hyatt Regency Trinidad was used for the 2009 5th Summit of the Americas from April 17 to 19, 2009.India – The Hyatt Regency Chennai was the venue for the World Chess Championship 2013, held for the first time in India, from November 9 to 28, 2013.Hyatt operates a loyalty program called World Of Hyatt, replacing Gold Passport on March 1, 2017.
