Strategic tie up for hotels in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Amritsar,
and Ahmedabad
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 2012--
Hyatt
Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today that a Hyatt affiliate
has signed a management agreement with IHHR Hospitality Private Limited
(IHHR) for five Ista hotels in India to be re-branded by Hyatt. Under
the agreement, the fully operational Ista hotels will be known as Hyatt
Bangalore, Hyatt Pune, Hyatt Hyderabad, Hyatt Ahmedabad and Hyatt
Amritsar. The branding effort is expected to be completed by March 2013.
The agreements were signed by both parties on October 29, 2012 in London.
Each of the five Ista hotels enjoy premium locations within their
respective cities and reflect a contemporary and modern design that
offers the business traveler a convenient and stylish place to live,
dine and meet. In recognition of their standing as one of India’s most
successful home-grown brands, Ista Bangalore and Ista Hyderabad have
been awarded a position on the Condé Nast Traveler’s prestigious Hot
List in 2006 and 2007, respectively. They were also ranked among the top
business hotels in South Asia by Travel + Leisure magazine.
“As a company we see a perfect fit with IHHR’s forward-thinking
philosophy and vision,” said
Ratnesh Verma
, Senior Vice President, Real
Estate and Development for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts in Asia-Pacific. “We
feel honored to have been selected as the new brand for their portfolio
in India. It is our constant endeavor to create preference for our brand
by having hotels in markets where our customers are traveling. This
opportunity allows Hyatt to further consolidate its distribution in
India and offer its customers a choice in new markets such as Bangalore,
Amritsar and Ahmedabad. The re-branding will also enhance our
representation with a great collection of high quality hotels that are
already recognized as market leaders in guest experience and
performance.”
The mutually beneficial association between the two hospitality
companies will, in turn, enable the five hotels to enlarge their global
reach, become a part of Hyatt’s popular Hyatt
Gold Passport loyalty program and other marketing initiatives, take
advantage of Hyatt’s well-established systems and processes, and
participate in Hyatt’s extensive network of hotels in 45 countries. This
deal will also allow IHHR to re-focus its efforts on further
developments and its other brands, which include the award-winning
destination spa brand Ananda in the Himalayas.
Ashok Khanna
, managing director of IHHR said, “We are proud of our
achievement in establishing the five Ista Hotels since the inception of
the brand in 2006. We wanted to tap into the confidence and power of
young India, so we listened to what those customers wanted and worked
with excellent architects and designers to create Ista. Clearly we got
it right, because we won awards from the writers and readers of highly
respected publications. The time is now right to step back to our role
as owners and hand these Ista hotels to a superb brand in Hyatt, which
can take the business to the next level, through its marketing and brand
strength. We are delighted with this relationship.”
“The association with IHHR comes at a particularly poignant time for us
at Hyatt as we will mark 30 years since Hyatt Regency Delhi opened as
the first Hyatt hotel in India. Since then, nine more hotels have opened
under various Hyatt brands in India; and with the addition of the five
Ista hotels, our portfolio stands at 15 business and resort hotels in
India. We want to continue building on our brand’s long presence and
relationships in the country and are fortunate to be a major part of the
Indian hospitality industry today. We are grateful to all our
developers, owners and guests for their belief and trust in Hyatt,” adds
Verma.
The re-branding of the five Ista hotels as Hyatt Hotels, will mark the
entry of the fourth brand from the company’s portfolio into India.
Currently, India has five Hyatt Regency hotels in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi,
Chennai and Kolkata, two Grand Hyatt hotels in Mumbai and Goa, and three
Park Hyatt
hotels in Goa, Chennai and Hyderabad. There are currently
more than 50 Hyatt-branded hotels under development in India, which are
expected to add more than 12,000 rooms. The Hyatt Place brand will be
the next to enter India, with Hyatt Place Hampi opening later this year,
followed by Hyatt Place Pune, Hinjewadi. The next six months will also
mark the opening of three other Hyatt hotels in India – Hyatt Regency
Gurgaon, Hyatt Regency Ludhiana and Hyatt Raipur.
About Hyatt
Hyatt hotels are smaller-sized properties conveniently located in
proximity to diverse business and leisure areas. With hotels typically
ranging from 150 to 350 rooms, Hyatt hotels offer guests the opportunity
to experience our hospitality in a vibrant environment. Customers
include individual business and leisure travelers, and Hyatt hotels can
accommodate smaller scale business meetings and social gatherings.
About IHHR
IHHR Hospitality Private Limited (IHHR) is the company behind the
award-winning Ista and Ananda brands. Founded in 1998, IHHR owns and
manages destination spas and also leisure and business hotels throughout
India. Its mission is to be known as a creative hotel chain offering
world-class hospitality with an Indian heart. Its flagship property is
Ananda in the Himalayas.
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 has
locations on six continents.
Hyatt House
is changing its
brand identity from Hyatt Summerfield Suites®. Hyatt
Residential Group, Inc., a Hyatt Hotels Corporation
subsidiary, develops, operates, markets or licenses Hyatt
ResidencesTM and Hyatt Residence
ClubTM. As of June 30, 2012, the
Company's worldwide portfolio consisted of 492 properties in 45
countries. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.
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
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respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

Source: Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Amy Patti, +1 312 780 5620
amy.patti@hyatt.com
or
Yasmin
Poonegar, +971 50 1891262
yasmin.poonegar@hyatt.com