Hyatt Place Taghazout to open in late 2014

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 13, 2012-- Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into a management agreement with Societe d’Aménagement et de Promotion de la Station de Taghazout (SAPST) for a Hyatt Place hotel in Taghazout, Morocco. The hotel will be developed and owned by SAPST. Hyatt Place Taghazout is the second Hyatt-branded hotel under development in Morocco, joining the previously announced Park Hyatt Marrakech, which is expected to open in 2013. There is currently one Hyatt-branded hotel in Morocco – Hyatt Regency Casablanca.

Located on Morocco's Atlantic coast, Hyatt Place Taghazout is expected to open in 2014. (Photo: Business Wire)

Hyatt Place Taghazout will be part of a master planned development, Taghazout Bay. Construction on the first phase of development has commenced and is comprised of Hyatt Place Taghazout, a Moroccan spa, a retail center, an 18-hole golf course, a golf club house, and a surf camp, all of which are expected to open in late 2014.

“We are delighted to work with Societe d’Aménagement et de Promotion de la Station de Taghazout on Hyatt Place Taghazout, the first Hyatt Place hotel under development in Morocco,” said Peter Norman , senior vice president of real estate and development, EAME for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. “We believe that the Hyatt Place brand and the location of the hotel in the Taghazout Bay Resort, near the city of Agadir on Morocco’s Atlantic Coast, will have strong appeal to business and leisure travellers visiting the city.”

“The opening of Hyatt Place Taghazout will be very exciting for Hyatt as we continue to establish Morocco as an influential resort destination,” said Peter Fulton , Executive Vice President, Group President – EAME/Southwest Asia, Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

The 150-room Hyatt Place Taghazout will be conveniently located adjacent to the city of Agadir, on Morocco’s Atlantic Coast. The master planned development’s completion is expected over a period of 15 years. The hotel’s development is supported by the government’s tourism strategy, Vision 2020, which sets sustainable development at the heart of its priorities.

“We are excited to introduce the Hyatt Place Taghazout brand to Morocco and bring Hyatt’s world-class hospitality to the area with the Hyatt Place brand,” commented a spokesperson from Societe d’Aménagement et de Promotion de la Station de Taghazout.

For more information, please visit www.hyattdevelopment.com.

About Hyatt Place

Launched in 2006, Hyatt Place brings to the upscale select service hotel category the authentic hospitality for which Hyatt is known. Inspired by multitasking travelers’ 24/7 lifestyle, Hyatt Place combines stylish design and practical amenities with forward-thinking technology and purposeful service. Spacious guestrooms feature multiple areas to work and relax, and include the Cozy Corner, an eight-foot sectional sofa sleeper; plush Hyatt Grand Bed; and ergonomic work center. For more information, please visit www.hyattplace.com.

About Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company with a proud heritage of making guests feel more than welcome. Thousands of members of the Hyatt family strive to make a difference in the lives of the guests they encounter every day by providing authentic hospitality. The Company's subsidiaries manage, franchise, own and develop hotels and resorts under the Hyatt®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place® and Hyatt House ^TM brand names and have locations on six continents. Hyatt Residential Group, Inc., a Hyatt Hotels Corporation subsidiary, develops, operates, markets or licenses Hyatt Residences^TM and Hyatt Residence Club^TM. As of September 30, 2012, the Company's worldwide portfolio consisted of 496 properties in 45 countries. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.

About SAPST

Established in July 2011, SAPST is devoted to the planning, development, marketing and management of the Taghazout Bay Resort. SAPST is a limited liability company registered with a capital of one hundred million Dirhams (MAD 100,000,000) and owned by five prestigious Moroccan shareholders: CDG Développement (35%), the Moroccan Fund for Tourism Development – FMDT (25%), Alliances Développement Immobilier (20%), Sud Partners – consortium with Akwa Group on top of it (15%) and the Moroccan Tourism Engineering Company – SMIT (5%).

About Taghazout Bay:

Located 40 minutes from Agadir International Airport, Taghazout Bay is part of the Vision 2020 national strategy. Highly committed to sustainable development, the resort design takes into account the preservation of natural resources and respects the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities. As a seaside resort on a rich hinterland, within an exceptional natural environment, Taghazout Bay offers tourists tremendous experiences focused on the sea, culture, sports, nature and eco-tourism. With investment exceeding one billion US Dollars, Taghazout Bay Resort will offer 7,450 tourist beds, allocated in nine modern hotels and various tourist residences, as well as world-class sporting and leisure facilities within five years. www.taghazoutbay.ma

Forward-Looking Statements

Forward-Looking Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include statements about our plans, strategies, occupancy and ADR trends, market share, the number of properties we expect to open in the future, our expected adjusted SG&A expense, capital expenditures, depreciation and amortization expense and interest expense estimates, financial performance, prospects or future events and involve known and unknown risks that are difficult to predict. As a result, our actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “may,” “could,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “likely,” “will,” “would” and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by us and our management, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, general economic uncertainty in key global markets, the rate and pace of economic recovery following economic downturns; levels of spending in business and leisure segments as well as consumer confidence; declines in occupancy and average daily rate; limited visibility with respect to short and medium-term group bookings; the impact of hotel renovations; our ability to successfully execute and implement our organizational realignment and the costs associated with such organizational realignment; our ability to successfully execute and implement our common stock repurchase program; loss of key personnel, including as a result of our organizational realignment; hostilities, including future terrorist attacks, or fear of hostilities that affect travel; travel-related accidents; changes in the tastes and preferences of our customers; relationships with associates and labor unions and changes in labor law; the financial condition of, and our relationships with, third-party property owners, franchisees and hospitality venture partners; if our third-party owners, franchisees or development partners are unable to access the capital necessary to fund current operations or implement our plans for growth; risk associated with potential acquisitions and dispositions and the introduction of new brand concepts; changes in the competitive environment in our industry and the markets where we operate; outcomes of legal proceedings; changes in federal, state, local or foreign tax law; foreign exchange rate fluctuations or currency restructurings; general volatility of the capital markets; our ability to access the capital markets; and other risks discussed in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which filings are available from the SEC. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information or future events, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable laws. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

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Source: Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Siân Martin, +1 312 780 5797
sian.martin@hyatt.com
or
Malene Rydahl, +33 1 53 45 2838
malene.rydahl@hyatt.com