Hyatt Place(TM) Opens 100th Hotel

By: Hyatt Place | 0 Shares 124 Reads

Travelers Embrace Hotel Concept Designed Around New Consumer Lifestyle

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hyatt Place raised the bar across the hospitality industry last week by opening its 100th hotel on December 27, 2007, just outside Memphis, securing its place as the clear leader in the lifestyle hotel category. A new hotel concept, Hyatt Place – publicly deemed a "category killer1" – has given consumers the resources they need to maintain their 24/7 lifestyle by offering a combination of style, service and amenities never before seen in the industry.

"Hyatt Place was designed to be a next generation hotel experience and based on the overwhelmingly positive guest feedback we've received to date, we succeeded in giving travelers a hotel where they can easily accomplish personal and professional tasks like they would at home," said Jim Abrahamson, Hyatt's senior vice president of real estate and development for the Americas. "Hyatt Place has 100 hotels in 32 states – and 20 more opening in Q1 2008 – that offer guests spacious guestrooms, cutting-edge entertainment options, free Wi-Fi, great food around the clock and cross-trained staff that can handle every guest need."

To commemorate the opening of the 100th Hyatt Place hotel, Hyatt Place Memphis/Wolfchase Galleria, the brand has partnered with USAA, the leading provider of financial services to the U.S. military, veterans and their families, to donate 100 free nights to Tennessee military families.

"We're proud to say that guests have recognized Hyatt Place as a hotel that's relevant to their lives, and because of that, is rapidly becoming their first choice," said Alison Kal, vice president, marketing. "It is now our turn to recognize some of the families of service men and women who make us proud everyday."

Hyatt Place Memphis/Wolfchase Galleria features 126 completely renovated guestrooms and public areas. The hotel is conveniently located near the Wolfchase Galleria® mall, First Tennessee Fields and Mike Rose Soccer Complex. In addition to Hyatt Place Memphis/Wolfchase Galleria, travelers can also stay at the recently opened Hyatt Place Memphis/Primacy Parkway and Hyatt Place Memphis/Germantown, the city's first new build Hyatt Place hotel scheduled to open in 2009.

Hyatt Place Background

Hyatt Place is an upscale, lifestyle hotel brand that complements Hyatt's full-service brands and combines contemporary design with innovative services and amenities that creates an atmosphere of casual hospitality. Hyatt Place was inspired by the changing landscape of contemporary, multi-tasking business travelers, who have successfully adapted to today's "24/7 lifestyle," seamlessly merging personal and professional activities.

Similar to what travelers might experience at home, 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. They can also catch the evening news, the big game or the latest feature movies on the 42-inch flat panel, high-definition television offering 11 channels of high-definition programming in addition to an already impressive channel selection. Hyatt Place guests will also have access to DIRECTV® Sports, which includes NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ and NBA LEAGUE PASSSM as well as other professional and college sports programming. Hyatt Place guests can stay connected through the innovative Hyatt Plug Panel™, which allows guests to connect their own entertainment media to the high-definition TV, including laptops, MP3 players, DVD players or any other portable device. The signature Hyatt Grand Bed™ ensures guests can enjoy a peaceful night's sleep in the bedroom area.

Hyatt Place hotels also feature 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. Guests at Hyatt Place may purchase signature hot breakfast entrées along with Starbucks® specialty coffees or enjoy a free continental breakfast. Hyatt Place also offers a variety of freshly prepared, café quality items, including made-to-order entrées, sandwiches, soups, salads and pizza which guests can order 24 hours a day, seven days a week via a touch screen menu in the Guest Kitchen or from the Gallery Host.

To help guests stay physically and mentally productive, they can also utilize the hotel's swimming pool or StayFit@Hyatt gym featuring state-of-the-art Life Fitness® equipment.

Travelers are raving about the 100 Hyatt Place hotels already open in and around a number of key markets, including Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix, Cincinnati, San Antonio, Nashville, Washington, DC, Louisville, Dallas, Tampa, Orlando and Detroit.

About USAA

USAA, a diversified financial services company, is the leading provider of competitively priced financial planning, insurance, investments, and banking products to members of the U.S. military and their families. Named by BusinessWeek as 2007's Customer Service Champion and ranked highest among financial services companies for customer advocacy in a Forrester Research survey, USAA provides convenient and accessible financial products to its more than 6 million members. For more information about USAA, or to learn more about membership, visit usaa.com.

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 2007. 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 www.hyattplace.com. From the U.S. and Canada, reservations for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts worldwide may be obtained by calling 1-800-233-1234 or logging onto www.hyatt.com.

About 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 www.hyatt.com.

1 Real Estate – Hotels, June 2007, Robert W. Baird & Co