Hyatt Hotel

yatt Hotels Corporation was born upon purchase of the Hyatt House, at Los Angeles International Airport on September 27, 1957. The original owners were entrepreneurs, Hyatt von Dehn and Jack D. Crouch. Von Dehn was eager to get out of the hotel business after a few years, so he sold his share in the hotel to Jay Pritzker. Jay's younger brother Donald, under Jack Crouch's mentorship, took over day-to-day operations of the company and acquired motels and hotels. Under Donald's leadership, Hyatt became the fastest growing hotel chain in the United States until his death in 1972.[2]

Hyatt became famous after the chain opened the world's first atrium hotel in 1967, the Hyatt Regency Atlanta,[3] a decade after opening its first hotel.

In 1969, Donald opened Hyatt's first overseas hotel, the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong (which closed at the end of 2005 and was demolished; a new facility replacing the old opened in 2009 [1]). In 1980, the Grand Hyatt and Park Hyatt brands were introduced. Hyatt has become known for its resorts after the opening of Hyatt Regency Maui[4] in 1980. Today Hyatt has over 434 hotels worldwide.[5]

In 1972, Hyatt formed Elsinore Corporation, a subsidiary to operate the Four Queens Hotel and Casino and the Hyatt Lake Tahoe. After Hyatt became a private company in 1979, Elsinore was spun off into a public company. The company opened the Playboy Hotel and Casino as a joint venture with Playboy Enterprises.[6][7]

In December 2004, Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced it would acquire AmeriSuites, an upscale chain of all suite business class hotels from affiliates of the Blackstone Group, a New York based private equity investment firm. Blackstone had inherited AmeriSuites from its 2004 acquisition of Prime Hospitality. The AmeriSuites chain is being rebranded and converted to a new concept called Hyatt Place. With Hyatt Place, Hyatt Hotels Corporation will better compete with the limited service products Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton Garden Inn offered by industry leaders Marriott International and Hilton Hotels Corp.

In December 2005, Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced a second limited service acquisition, Summerfield Suites. Again the seller was the Blackstone Group. Blackstone had inherited Summerfield Suites from its purchase of Wyndham International. Summerfield Suites