Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today that one of its wholly owned subsidiaries has signed an agreement to purchase a portfolio of assets from LodgeWorks, L.P., a private hotel development, ownership and management company, and its private equity partners. The acquisition includes 24 hotels and related assets, including management, franchise and intellectual property rights for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $802 million in cash. Key members of the LodgeWorks management and development team are expected to join Hyatt as part of the transaction.

"This is a significant expansion of our presence in the United States and enhances our extended stay representation with a great collection of high quality hotels"

The hotels being purchased are key assets in strategic, high barrier to entry markets and are currently branded under the Hotel Sierra® (17), AVIA® Hotels (4), Hyatt Place® (1) and Hyatt Summerfield Suites® (2) brands. The acquisition will enable the company to introduce Hyatt-branded hotels in nine markets where it currently is not represented at all and to establish its extended stay presence in 16 new markets.

Following the transaction, 16 Hotel Sierra hotels will be branded as Hyatt Summerfield Suites, increasing the number of hotels in that portfolio from 38 to 54. Five properties, including the AVIA Hotels, are expected to be converted to full service Hyatt brands. The brand affiliations of Hyatt Summerfield Suites and Hyatt Place properties in the LodgeWorks portfolio will remain unchanged.

The hotels will be managed by Hyatt following the closing of the transaction, which is anticipated to occur in the third quarter 2011. The closing is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions. The closings for the majority of the asset purchases are expected to take place in the third and fourth quarters of 2011. The purchases of the remaining assets are expected to close by the end of the first quarter 2012.

"This is a significant expansion of our presence in the United States and enhances our extended stay representation with a great collection of high quality hotels," said Mark S. Hoplamazian, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. "We know that for Hyatt Summerfield Suites to become the preferred brand among extended stay guests, we must increase the number of markets we serve. This transaction is a noteworthy step in that direction, and will give us an immediate boost in brand awareness among both guests and potential third party developers. The extended stay hotels coming into the portfolio are, on average, four years old – and many have been open less than two years – making them welcome additions to our brand. Most of the hotels slated to become full service Hyatts were new-builds in 2009, and are already recognized as market leaders in guest experience and performance."

"We are very proud of our hotels and our teams," said LodgeWorks founder, Chairman and CEO Rolf E. Ruhfus. "It is exciting to build a portfolio that brings value to our investors and teams and now to an industry-leading Hyatt. We respect the Hyatt heritage and culture and are very pleased to contribute to its growth."

Industry veteran B. Anthony (Tony) Isaac, President of LodgeWorks, is expected to join Hyatt, as are other key members of the LodgeWorks management team, bringing with them significant development and construction management expertise, extensive extended stay operating experience, and a broad range of owner and industry relationships.

Steve Haggerty, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Real Estate and Development for Hyatt, said, "More than just adding hotels to our portfolio, this transaction deepens and strengthens Hyatt's overall select service and extended stay capabilities. We are delighted to welcome Tony Isaac and members of his team into the Hyatt family and enthusiastic about enlisting his team's management and development expertise in the service of our mission to grow our select service brands."

"We have long admired Hyatt as an innovator and an operator," said Isaac. "Given the company's financial and brand strength and the depth of its commitment to becoming the preferred hospitality brand in each segment it serves, it's an exciting time to join forces with the Hyatt team. With our intimate knowledge of the extended stay industry and as the original creators of the Summerfield Suites brand, we see the integration of Hotel Sierra and AVIA into the Hyatt portfolio as a powerful combination."

Hyatt does not expect a significant benefit to 2011 full-year Adjusted EBITDA as result of this purchase, due to the expected timing of the closings, transaction costs, and the fact that several of the assets are continuing to ramp up post-opening. However, Hyatt expects this purchase to generate approximately $50 million of Adjusted EBITDA during 2012. The annual Adjusted EBITDA of this purchase is expected to grow in 2013 and beyond as the properties stabilize and the full benefit of the conversion and re-branding occurs. For our definition of Adjusted EBITDA and a reconciliation of consolidated Adjusted EBITDA to EBITDA and a reconciliation of EBITDA to its most directly comparable GAAP measure, net income attributable to Hyatt Hotels Corporation, see Part I, Item 2, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Results of Operations" of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2011.

The hotels that will join the Hyatt Summerfield Suites portfolio (2,354 rooms) are in:
Bellevue, WA
Branchburg, NJ
Charlotte, NC
Dulles/Sterling, VA
Fishkill, NY
Morrisville/Raleigh, NC
Parsippany, NJ
Rancho Cordova, CA
Redmond, WA
Richmond, VA
San Jose, CA
San Ramon, CA
Santa Clara, CA
Shelton, CT
King of Prussia, PA
Falls Church, VA

The hotels that will become Hyatt hotels (741 rooms) are in:
Green Bay, WI
Long Beach, CA
Napa, CA
Savannah, GA
Woodlands, TX

The hotels that are already Hyatt-branded (432 rooms) that Hyatt will acquire and begin managing are:
Hyatt Place Madison/Downtown (WI)
Hyatt Summerfield Suites Boston/Burlington
Hyatt Summerfield Suites Philadelphia/Plymouth Meeting

About LodgeWorks | Wichita-Kansas based LodgeWorks, L.P., is a privately-held hotel management and development company with a proven track record as hospitality brand innovators, having developed 5 hotel brands with industry-leading guest satisfaction, with sophisticated development acumen resulting in more than 120 hotel projects at a development cost of $2 billion and an experienced team that has successfully collaborated for more than 25 years. Among recent developments, the company launched AVIA®, a boutique hotel collection with sophisticated, locally-inspired designs, crafted to bring authentic moments of discovery to discerning travelers. LodgeWorks also evolved the upscale suite category with Hotel Sierra®. The brand offers both business and leisure travelers a contemporary retreat for short or lengthy stays coupled with intuitive, value-added amenities; smart, fashion-forward design; and unsurpassed service. For more information, please visit www.lodgeworks.com, www.aviahotels.com or www.hotel-sierra.com.

About Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company guided by its purpose – to care for people so they can be their best. As of September 30, 2023, the Company's portfolio included more than 1,300 hotels and all-inclusive properties in 76 countries across six continents. The Company's offering includes brands in the Timeless Collection, including Park Hyatt®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt®, Hyatt Vacation Club®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Studios, and UrCove; the Boundless Collection, including Miraval®, Alila®, Andaz®, Thompson Hotels®, Dream® Hotels, Hyatt Centric®, and Caption by Hyatt®; the Independent Collection, including The Unbound Collection by Hyatt®, Destination by Hyatt®, and JdV by Hyatt®; and the Inclusive Collection, including Impression by Secrets, Hyatt Ziva®, Hyatt Zilara®, Zoëtry® Wellness & Spa Resorts, Secrets® Resorts & Spas, Breathless Resorts & Spas®, Dreams® Resorts & Spas, Hyatt Vivid Hotels & Resorts, Alua Hotels & Resorts®, and Sunscape® Resorts & Spas. Subsidiaries of the Company operate the World of Hyatt® loyalty program, ALG Vacations®, Mr & Mrs Smith™, Unlimited Vacation Club®, Amstar DMC destination management services, and Trisept Solutions® technology services. 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. 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 when made, are inherently uncertain, and are subject to numerous assumptions and uncertainties, many of which are outside of Kiraku, Inc. or Hyatt's control, which could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements made in this press release are made only as of the date of their initial publication and neither party undertakes an obligation to publicly update any of these forward-looking statements as actual events unfold, except to the extent required by applicable law. If one or more forward-looking statements is updated, no inference should be drawn that any additional updates will be made with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

Farley Kern
Director of Brand Public Relations, North America
312.780.5506
Hyatt