CHICAGO (November 1, 2013) – Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into a management agreement with Claremont Group LLC, a New York-based real estate development company, for a Hyatt Regency hotel in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Expected to open in 2017, Hyatt Regency Sulaymaniyah will be the first Hyatt-branded hotel in Iraq.
“Bringing the Hyatt brand to Iraq is one of the most exciting projects we have in development. Kurdistan is a stable and prosperous area of Iraq, and as a result, the economy is growing and demand for lodging accommodations is rising,” said Peter Norman, senior vice president, real estate and development, for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. “There is great potential for growth in Iraq and throughout the Middle East, and we look forward to introducing the Hyatt brand to guests visiting the region. Hyatt Regency Sulaymaniyah will offer a full range of services, amenities and dining options to meet the needs of both business and leisure travelers.”
“We are delighted to work with Hyatt on the first Hyatt Regency hotel in the country,” said Alex Lari, Claremont Group LLC. “We believe the strength of Hyatt’s service and culture, as well as its depth of operational expertise, will bring great value to the new hotel.”
Hyatt Regency Sulaymaniyah will offer 210 guestrooms, as well as an all-day dining restaurant, more than 17,500 square feet (1,660 square meters) of meeting and event space, a fitness center, a five-treatment room spa, and three pools. Located in the city of Sulaymaniyah, 210 miles northeast of Baghdad, Hyatt Regency Sulaymaniyah will be the only hotel in Hawary Shar Park, a 240-acre leisure and entertainment park currently under development, which will include a shopping mall, a golf course and zoological gardens.
For more information, please visit www.hyattdevelopment.com.
About Hyatt Regency
Hyatt Regency hotels are conveniently located in urban, suburban, airport, convention and resort destinations around the world. Properties range in size up to 2,000 rooms, feature intimate and large meeting spaces, and offer a full range of services and dining options tailored to serve the needs of conventions, business travelers or resort vacationers. Hyatt Regency enables all guests – whether they are traveling to work, unwind or gather in celebration – to feel productive and revitalized. www.hyattregency.com
About Claremont Group LLC
A global leader in real estate development, The Claremont Group is a New York based family owned firm specializing in office, residential, hospitality, student housing, and international emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa. The Group's development activities in Kurdistan include The Atlantic, a new mixed-use 1,600 unit residential project in the heart of Erbil and the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Erbil due to open in 2014. For more information, please visit www.theclaremontgroup.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® brand names and have locations on six continents. Hyatt Residential Group, Inc., a Hyatt Hotels Corporation subsidiary, develops, operates, markets or licenses Hyatt ResidencesTM and Hyatt Residence ClubTM. As of September 30, 2013, the Company's worldwide portfolio consisted of 535 properties in 47 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.
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Siân Martin
+1 312 780 5797
sian.martin@hyatt.com
Malene Rydahl
+33 1 53 45 28 38
malene.rydahl@hyatt.com