CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) today announced that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into a franchise agreement with Songy HighRoads, a commercial real estate development firm based in Atlanta, Ga., to develop Hyatt Regency Houston Galleria. The hotel will be managed by Aimbridge Hospitality and is scheduled to open in fall 2015.

Hyatt Regency Houston Galleria is being built near the Houston Galleria shopping mall at 2626 Sage Road, on the northwest corner of Sage Road and West Alabama Street. It is part of the 7.6-acre, mixed use development, Galleria Plaza, which includes a Whole Foods Market, multiple high-end retail and specialty stores, luxury apartments, and multiple recently completed office towers. The 325-room, 14-story hotel will feature more than 12,000 square feet of meeting and conference space as well as a large fitness center overlooking the pool deck.

“We began construction of Hyatt Regency Houston Galleria in December 2013, and are looking forward to a fall 2015 opening,” stated Todd Nocerini , Chief Operating Officer, Songy HighRoads . “The Galleria area is one of Houston's most important commercial sub-markets, and we are delighted to be bringing the Hyatt Regency brand, in tandem with Aimbridge Hospitality as our hotel manager, to business and leisure travelers visiting the area.”

“The Galleria area of Houston offers an incredible opportunity to interface with the formidable office and retail population in the vicinity. We are pleased to add Hyatt Regency Houston Galleria to our portfolio, and look forward to working with the great team at Songy HighRoads,” stated Dave Johnson , president and Chief Executive Officer of Aimbridge Hospitality.

David Tarr , senior vice president, real estate and development for Hyatt, stated, “Finding a suitable opportunity to introduce the Hyatt Regency brand has been a high priority for the company, as we seek to thoughtfully expand our brand presence in the Houston metropolitan area. We are excited to be a part of this project with the very accomplished team of Songy Highroads and Aimbridge Hospitality, and look forward to giving our guests a terrific new lodging option at the Galleria.”

About Songy HighRoads LLC

Songy HighRoads LLC is a commercial real estate firm based in Atlanta, Ga. specializing in the acquisition and development of office, hospitality and mixed-use projects in the southeastern U.S. Since 1992, their principals have acquired and/or developed more than 5 million square feet with nearly $1 billion in project investment completed or underway. The firm has closed on more than $325 million in projects during 2013 in Houston, Washington, D.C., New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

About Aimbridge Hospitality

Aimbridge Hospitality is the nations’ second largest independent hotel investment and management firm with a proven track record for delivering superior returns for its strategic partners in a variety of markets and economic cycles. Aimbridge provides management, asset management, development, renovation and consulting services. Based in Dallas, Texas and with development offices in Chicago, Dallas and Puerto Rico, Aimbridge currently owns and/or manages over 200 upscale, independent and branded hotels with nearly 27,000 rooms across the United States and the Caribbean, including such affiliations as Marriott, Hilton, Embassy Suites, Doubletree, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Aloft, Hyatt, Wyndham, Choice Hotels and the Phoenix Inn Suites chain of hotels. For more information on Aimbridge Hospitality, please visit www.aimbridgehospitality.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, license, own and develop hotels, resorts, branded residences and vacation ownership properties under the Hyatt®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Zilara™, Hyatt Ziva ™, Hyatt Residences® and Hyatt Residence Club® brand names and have locations on six continents. As of June 30, 2014, the Company's worldwide portfolio consisted of 563 properties in 48 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. 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, 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; 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; changes in the competitive environment in our industry and the markets where we operate; 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.

Source: Hyatt Hotels Corporation