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Hyatt Launches "Ready to Thrive" to Support Global Literacy and Career Readiness

By: Hyatt Hotels Corporation |  3 Shares     71 Reads

Philanthropy program strategically addresses global talent shortages through increased access to education and expands hospitality career opportunities in communities around the world.

CHICAGO - June 17, 2013 - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today its long-term commitment to education and workforce readiness with Ready to Thrive, a new global philanthropy program focused on literacy and career development. Ready to Thrive will lend critical support to the company’s corporate responsibility platform, Hyatt Thrive, which strives to make local communities places where Hyatt associates are proud to work, where guests want to visit, where neighbors want to live and where hotel owners want to invest.

Through Ready to Thrive, Hyatt will invest its corporate dollars in education, a key issue that not only impacts many local communities around the world but is also critical to Hyatt’s long term business goals and global expansion efforts. Hyatt will make a commitment to serving its local communities, many with youth and schools in need of educational resources, by helping to provide rich and meaningful career paths to community members with diverse background and skillsets.

This commitment and philanthropy strategy is designed to increase the quality of life in communities around the world, and in turn, build a strong foundation for Hyatt’s future associates. First year investments will include support for global literacy initiatives, as well as training programs in Brazil, a strategic location for Hyatt with the anticipated opening of Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro in 2015.

“Our focus on literacy and career development goes beyond charitable giving – it is a strategic investment of our resources to create a lasting impact for local communities and for our company,” said Mark Hoplamazian, President and Chief Executive Officer for Hyatt Hotels Corporation. “We know that a solid education is essential for economic growth, job creation and income generation, all of which are critical to creating thriving communities and to the success of our business.”

About Ready to Thrive

With a focus on literacy and career readiness, Ready to Thrive will support community organizations and programs and will offer a launching point for individuals to learn and develop the critical skills needed to professionally advance. It will also build on the existing foundation of Hyatt Thrive’s four pillars, which include economic development and investment, health and wellness, environmental sustainability, and education and personal advancement.

“We are investing corporate dollars into education because we believe that people who are better educated have greater economic prospects, lead healthier lives and contribute to more vibrant, sustainable communities,” said Brigitta Witt, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility for Hyatt. “With nearly 800 million people around the world who can’t read or write*, it’s more important than ever that we focus on literacy and life skills, which are the foundation of a meaningful career path. The health of our business is inextricably linked to education and to the success of our associates and our local communities.”

Ready to Thrive is already well underway with several investments, including:

Literacy

More than 60 million children worldwide do not have access to education and will likely never learn to read or write*. Knowing that reading and writing are fundamental to an individual’s opportunities for future success, Hyatt regularly works with the Pearson Foundation’s We Give Books, as well as Room to Read, two non-profit organizations devoted to improving literacy and education for millions of children around the world. Earlier this year, Hyatt teamed up with both organizations during its Global Month of Community Service to donate 35,000 books across the globe.

Overall, Hyatt has donated 50,000 books to children in need through its work with We Give Books and Room To Read.

Career Development

As an example of the support and care for communities in which Hyatt hotels operate, the company has made a two-year, US$750,000 commitment to career training and development programs in Rio de Janeiro. Working with AlfaSol and Associação Projeto Roda Viva, two well-known organizations, the company’s investment will focus on the development and professional training of low-income youth who live in the same community where the new Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro will be completed in 2015.

“The investment from Hyatt is going to make a huge difference as we train young people in vulnerable situations and help them to develop skills that are essential to enter and remain in today’s workforce and to be active participants in their communities," said Maristela Miranda Barbara, Director of Pedagogical Training and Monitoring at AlfaSol. “Finding ways to integrate our youth into the workforce is crucial for the development of this city, and we are thrilled that Hyatt can help us provide these critical educational and professional opportunities.”

This latest investment complements several other Hyatt outreach programs in Brazil, including the Formare School, an onsite initiative in Sao Paulo that recruits underprivileged youth from surrounding slums, or “favelas,” and brings them to Grand Hyatt Sao Paulo for a hands-on, year-long training program focused on finance, civics, personal responsibility and hospitality training. Through the program, hotel associates are trained as volunteers to teach the classes.

Additionally, Hyatt has a long history of working with Youth Career Initiative (YCI), which enables hotels to provide six-month education programs for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. The program empowers participants by teaching them life and vocational skills to expand their career choices and improve employability. Hyatt currently hosts YCI students in hotels in Sao Paulo, Warsaw, Poland, Amman, Jordan, Mumbai, India and Cancun, Mexico. These hotels have collectively hired 45 percent of their program’s graduates – over 25 young professionals – a number that Hyatt hopes to expand in the coming years through its continuous work with YCI.

For more information on Ready to Thrive, please visit www.HyattThrive.com/ReadytoThrive.

The term “Hyatt” is used in this release for convenience to refer to Hyatt Hotels Corporation or one or more of its subsidiaries and affiliates.

About Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company with a proud heritage of making guests feel more than welcome. Thousands of members of the Hyatt family strive to make a difference in the lives of the guests they encounter every day by providing authentic hospitality. The Company's subsidiaries manage, franchise, own and develop hotels and resorts under the Hyatt®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place® and Hyatt House® brand names and have locations on six continents. Hyatt Residential Group, Inc., a Hyatt Hotels Corporation subsidiary, develops, operates, markets or licenses Hyatt ResidencesTM and Hyatt Residence ClubTM. As of March 31, 2013, the Company's worldwide portfolio consisted of 508 properties in 46 countries. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.

*www.roomtoread.org

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. These statements include statements about our plans, strategies, the number of properties we expect to open in the future and when we expect these properties to open, our expected capital expenditures, and other future events and involve known and unknown risks that are difficult to predict. As a result, our actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. 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 by us and our management, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, general economic uncertainty in key global markets, the rate and pace of economic recovery following economic downturns; levels of spending in business and leisure segments as well as consumer confidence; declines in occupancy and average daily rate; our ability to successfully execute and implement our organizational realignment and the costs associated with such organizational realignment; loss of key personnel, including as a result of our organizational realignment; hostilities, including future terrorist attacks, or fear of hostilities that affect travel; travel-related accidents; changes in the tastes and preferences of our customers; relationships with associates and labor unions and changes in labor law; the financial condition of, and our relationships with, third-party property owners, franchisees and hospitality venture partners; if our third-party owners, franchisees or development partners are unable to access the capital necessary to fund current operations or implement our plans for growth; risk associated with potential acquisitions and dispositions and the introduction of new brand concepts; changes in the competitive environment in our industry and the markets where we operate; outcomes of legal proceedings; changes in federal, state, local or foreign tax law; foreign exchange rate fluctuations or currency restructurings; general volatility of the capital markets; our ability to access the capital markets; and other risks discussed in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which filings are available from the SEC. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information or future events, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable laws. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

Contact:

Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Jamie Rothfeld
+1 312 780 6070
jamie.rothfeld@hyatt.com

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