Hyatt Place

CHICAGO | Hyatt Place today announced the hotel industry’s first customized webpage populated with location-specific content using iGoogle1. This marks the first time a hotel brand is providing guests with the ability to immediately view relevant, local online content to assist them during their stay.

All guests taking advantage Hyatt Place’s complimentary Wi-Fi will now access Google’s services and view location-specific content immediately once they log in, including:

  • Local weather, traffic conditions, date and time
  • The hotel’s Google Maps™ location and driving directions service
  • Widgets from FlightStats.com and Gmail™, Google’s email application
  • Some of Google’s most popular RSS feeds, including CNN.com, USA Today’s travel section, People magazine and CBS Sportsline

Guests can also incorporate their own widgets, or mini web applications, onto their customized webpage, allowing them instant access to the content they find most helpful in their everyday life. For added convenience, the guest access webpage also includes a hotel television channel guide, instructions for printing documents or boarding passes on the hotel’s complimentary printer and a full menu of items available in the 24-hour Guest Kitchen.

“The hotel experience has evolved – it’s no longer enough to offer technology, it’s about knowing how guests use that technology to help them manage their lives,” said Alison Kal, vice president, marketing, Hyatt Corporation. “When we developed Hyatt Place, we realized reliable, complimentary access in all areas of every hotel was crucial but that’s only the first step. We wanted to ensure relevant information was immediately accessible so we integrated iGoogle – a product of one of the world’s leading technology firms – to provide guests with content they need while on the road.”

“Users want immediate, at-a-glance access to the information wherever they are – at home, at work, even when traveling,” said Dan Stickel, responsible for Google Partner Products. “With the customized iGoogle webpage, Hyatt Place guests can tap into the simplicity of Google search, while accessing the information they look for on a regular basis, like local weather, flight schedules, maps, calendars and Gmail, within seconds of logging on.”

The version of iGoogle available for syndication is also known as Google Apps Start Page technology.

Hyatt Place Background

Hyatt Place inspired by today’s 24/7 lifestyle and designed complement Hyatt’s full-service brands with an atmosphere of casual hospitality. Attuned to the changing landscape of contemporary, multi-tasking business travelers, Hyatt Place allows guests to seamlessly merge personal and professional activities, offering a balanced mix of comfortable and functional amenities.

  • Guests can take advantage of free Wi-Fi access, stretch out on the eight-foot Cozy Corner sofa-sleeper or work at an oversized desk in an ergonomic chair
  • Every guestroom features a 42-inch flat panel, high-definition television offers 11 channels of HD along with an already impressive channel selection – perfect for catching the evening news, big game or latest movies
  • Guests have access to DIRECTV® Sports service, which includes NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ and NBA LEAGUE PASSSM as well as other professional and college sports programming
  • The Hyatt Plug Panel™ allows guests to connect their own entertainment media to the HDTV, including laptops, MP3 players, DVD players or any other portable device
  • The signature Hyatt Grand Bed™ ensures guests enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep
  • The Gallery, an innovative welcoming arrival area where guests are personally greeted by the Gallery Host who assists guests with everything from check-in to providing personal tours of the hotel
  • In the Gallery guests will also find a self-registration kiosk, an intimate coffee and wine café and bakery, free Wi-Fi, a TV den and an e-room with free access to a public computer and printer.
  • The Guest Kitchen offers hot breakfast entrées along with Starbucks® specialty coffees and a free continental breakfast along with a variety of freshly prepared, café quality items, including made-to-order entrées, sandwiches, soups, salads and pizza that can be ordered 24/7 via a touch screen menu in the Guest Kitchen or from the Gallery Host
  • A swimming pool or StayFit@Hyatt gym featuring state-of-the-art Life Fitness® equipment help guests stay physically and mentally productive

Travelers are raving about Hyatt Place hotels already open in and around Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix, Cincinnati, San Antonio, Nashville, Washington, DC and Louisville. There will be more than 100 Hyatt Place hotels open by December 2007, including locations in Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, Orlando and Detroit, in addition to other key business and leisure markets throughout the country.

About Hyatt Place

Hyatt Place, a new kind of Hyatt for today’s relaxed lifestyle, combines The Hyatt Touch® with stylish design, purposeful amenities and forward-thinking technology. Catering to today’s discerning travelers, 120 Hyatt Place hotels are to open across the U.S. by the end of March 2008. Hyatt Place is a newly developed brand of Global Hyatt Corporation. For Hyatt Place information or to make a reservation, call 1-888-HYATT-HP (888-492-8847) or visit . From the U.S. and Canada, reservations for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts worldwide may be obtained by calling 1-800-233-1234 or logging onto

Global Hyatt Corporation
Global Hyatt Corporation, one of the world’s premier hotel companies, offers today’s travelers over 735 hotels and resorts (over 136,000 rooms) in more than 44 countries. The company’s affiliates own, operate, manage and franchise Hyatt branded hotels and resorts under the Park Hyatt™, Grand Hyatt™, Hyatt Regency™, Hyatt Resorts™, Hyatt®, Hyatt Place™ and Hyatt Summerfield Suites ® brands. In April 2007, Hyatt launched its newest global brand, Andaz™. Global Hyatt Corporation is also the owner of Hyatt Vacation Ownership, Inc. operator of the Hyatt Vacation Club and fractional residential properties and U.S. Franchise Systems, Inc, which franchises Hawthorn Suites and Microtel Inns and Suites. From the U.S. and Canada, reservations for any Hyatt hotel worldwide may be obtained by calling 1-800-233-1234 or logging onto .

Google, iGoogle, Google Maps and Gmail are trademarks of Google Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Amy Patti
Public Relations Manager, Select Brand
312-780-5620
Hyatt