During a turbulent economy that doesn’t make hotel companies the sexiest belle at the ball, one Chicago-based company is shouting to the world it’s proud to be in the maligned hotel industry.
It was comforting to see Global Hyatt Corporation change its name to Hyatt Hotels Corporation earlier this week. While some might ho-hum the name change, it sends a positive message to consumers and the investment community that while hotel companies have been punched in the gut by this recession, they’re not going to cower in the corner waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The outlook for the industry isn’t rosy, as Smith Travel Research’s revised forecast indicates. But hotels have been down this kind of bumpy road before, and it always has led to a smooth, six-lane expressway. It’s all about persevering the cyclical nature of business.
That’s what Hyatt is doing with its name change. It wasn’t even five years ago when Hyatt Corporation changed its name to Global Hyatt Corporation. The company’s goal was to create a holding company that would allow for the merging of affiliates such as Hyatt Hotels Corporation (sound familiar?) and Hyatt International. It has done that essentially.
At the time Global Hyatt was formed on 31 December 2004, the company was in the midst of wrapping up a deal to acquire the AmeriSuites brand from Prime Hospitality Corporation. AmeriSuites later became the Hyatt Place brand, a limited-service chain that has become one of the company’s anchors.
Also at the time Global Hyatt was formed, it was widely believed the company was setting itself up for an initial public offering. While it hasn’t gone public yet, there’s still a chance it might do so. The formation of Global Hyatt—now aptly named Hyatt Hotels Corporation—consolidated all of the Pritzker family’s hospitality assets under one corporation with one balance sheet.
While the industry reminisces about the public battle between generations of the Pritzker family—which happened about the same time Global Hyatt was getting off the ground—it also can be glad names such as Leisel Pritzker, Matthew Pritzker and Robert Pritzker are no longer making headlines when it comes to the Hyatt portfolio.
Now, the company is making headlines. Hyatt Hotels Corporation is the parent entity of companies that own, operate, manage and franchise hotel, resort, residential and vacation ownership properties under the brand names Hyatt, Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place, Hyatt Summerfield Suites and Hyatt Vacation Club.
With international growth and a thriving franchise business as cornerstones, hooray for the executives who made the decision to include “Hotels” in the corporate moniker.