Hyatt Place Debuts in India

In a bid to expand its presence in the promising Indian market, Chicago, Illinois-based, leading global hotel chain Hyatt Hotels Corporation ( H - Snapshot Report ) recently declared the opening of Hyatt Place Hampi in Karnataka, India. This is the first Hyatt Place brand hotel in India, which the company opened in association with Chartered Hampi Hotels Private Limited.

After Hyatt Place San Jose/Pinares in Costa Rica, Hyatt Place Hampi is the second hotel under the Hyatt Place brand to be opened outside the United States.

The Hyatt Place Hampi features 115 guest rooms and 3,500 square feet of conference or function space. It also offers many other amenities such as free Wi-Fi and all-day-dining restaurant. General Manager Sumit Kumar and Director of Sales Rohith K. are in charge of managing the hotel. Hampi is located 27 kilometers away from UNESCO world heritage site and lies in close proximity to JSW Steel Limited and Bellary and Hospet business centers. Thus, the strategic location will enable the hotel to attract business as well as leisure travelers.

Hyatt Place is an upscale select service brand of Hyatt Hotel, which offers wide range of services in a high-tech and modern environment. Hyatt also has plans to open 20 more Hyatt Place branded hotels in India in cities including Pune and Nagpur.

Hyatt Hotels operates under various brand names such as Hyatt, Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place and Hyatt House. The company is focusing more on driving its coverage in India by providing full portfolio of brands and extensive services in the Indian market. It already owns nine hotels in the country under various Hyatt brands.

The company also declared to introduce more than 50 various Hyatt branded hotels in India such as Hyatt Regency Gurgaon, Hyatt Regency Ludhiana, Hyatt Raipur, Andaz Gurgaon and Grand Hyatt Kochi.

Apart from these, the company entered into an agreement for rebranding five Ista hotels - Hyatt Bangalore, Hyatt Pune, Hyatt Hyderabad, Hyatt Ahmedabad and Hyatt Amritsar in India. The rebranding is scheduled to be completed by March 2013.

Hyatt is currently more inclined towards expanding its business in the faster growing emerging markets especially in the Asia-Pacific region where the demand for hotels is very high. Apart from the Chinese market, hoteliers are expecting that India will offer significant growth opportunities moving ahead. In the Indian market, demand for hotels considerably outpaces the supply. Hence, the company is likely to benefit immensely from this strategic expansion, going forward.

Hyatt Hotels’ major rivals, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. ( HOT - Analyst Report ) and Marriott International Inc. ( MAR - Analyst Report ) , are also expanding their Indian portfolios continuously. In early 2012, Starwood declared that it is set to unveil 20 hotels in India by 2015.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation carries a Zacks #4 Rank (short-term Sell rating).