The launch of new brands, strategic acquisitions, a strong focus on luxury and lifestyle: all these trends have been driving the in-depth transformation of hotel groups for more than a decade. But of all the Accors, Hiltons, IHGs, Marriotts and others, if there is one that has experienced impressive growth since the early 2010s, it is undoubtedly Hyatt. A big name in the sector, but one that was onlystill a dwarf in 2009. While most of its competitors had several thousand hotels at that time, the American hotelier had barely 400, most of them in the United States and the world's major cities... compared with more than 1,250 at the end of last year in 700 destinations!
Since 2017, the American group has seen the strongest growth among its peers, with room growth of 64%, compared with 31% for Hilton, 30% for Accor, 22% for Marriott and 14% for IHG. " Not only have we seen greater growth, but disproportionate growth in the segments where charges per room are highest" said Mark Hoplamazian, CEO of the hotel group. Hyatt's offer is positioned at 70% in the luxury and upper upscale segments, compared with 28% for Marriott, for example.
At its investor day, the American group, which is celebrating its 65th anniversary, recently looked back at the profound changes it has undergone over the last two decades. And in particular the reasons for its development, which for a long time took place at a measured pace, when the hotel business was just one of its owners' many activities, the Pritzker familyone of the richest in the United States, and also known for its famous architecture prize. "Our ambition was to have a strong brand, but with no real target sizeexplained Thomas Pritzker, Group Executive Chairman since 2004. Our aim was above all to build up our family heritage by investing in a whole range of businesses, in particular by using part of the cash generated by the hotel business. As a result, Hyatt's growth has been slower." .
The death of Jay Pitzker, one of the main builders of this empire, and the family dissensions that followed led to the group being floated on the stock market in 2009. This led to a new momentum : " Hyatt had to stop being a company purely focused on the hotel business and offer prospects for growth. Hence the need to move into other segments and open up to franchising." said Thomas Pritzker. Mark Hoplamazian, Hyatt's CEO since 2006, spoke of the preparatory period leading up to the "New Hyatt" we know today: " From 2007 to 2016, we launched brands to enable us to enter new markets and offer our customers more experiences." .
Mark Hoplamazian likes to present his band as one of the first to focus on high-end lifestyle with Andaz in 2007, as well as the all-inclusive Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara. The portfolio of brands, still focused on the top end of the market, has also been extended to the independent hotel sector with The Unbound CollectionHyatt Place, contemporary limited service hotels, Hyatt House for long stays and, very recently, Hyatt Studios.
At the same time, following the 'asset light' strategy in force in the sector, Hyatt has also changed its business model. Whereas the group owned around a hundred hotels when it was floated, it now owns just 34. Sales generating $3.8 billionAlmost all of this was reinvested in strategic acquisitions.
This other major growth driver enabled Hyatt to gain a foothold in the luxury and wellness hotel sector with the acquisition of Miraval in 2017, and then to take a major step into lifestyle with the acquisition of Two Roads Hospitality and its brands. JdV, Thompson and Alila in 2018. A buoyant segment in which Hyatt has continued its shopping spree with the integration this year of the Dream Hotel Group, giving it an increased presence of 30% in New York. What's more, the acquisition of the Apple Leisure Group - the Group's largest to date - has elevated Hyatt to the rank of one of the world's leading hotels. world leader in all inclusive top of the range.
In total, the Group's offering will have been enriched by 13 brands in the course of this profound transformation. With a portfolio capable of satisfying both potential owners and loyal customers, Hyatt has laid the foundations for its current and future growth. The number of luxury hotels has been doubled since 2017, by a factor of three for resorts and even by a factor of four for the lifestyle segment, which is currently in vogue. " In addition, we have extended the presence of our brands in 18 new countries and 224 markets." said a delighted Mark Hoplamazian.
Paradoxically, what used to be the Group's weakness - a lesser geographical presence than its competitors - could now be its strength, with a large number of new business opportunities. terrae incognitae still to be conquered. Of the 650 main markets in the world, only half have Hyatt hotels. And even if the American hotelier's offer competes in the key markets, this is far from being the case elsewhere. " While our competitors have an average of 14 hotels per market, Hyatt has just 4.explains Mark Hoplamazian. Hence significant room for growth" . For example, the latest of its brands, Hyatt Studios, will enable the group to establish itself in secondary and tertiary cities in the United States, with an offer at a price adapted to these markets. On the strength of all these blank pages yet to be writtenHyatt has a well-stocked pipeline of 117,000 rooms. This means that we can look forward with confidence to reaching the 1,500 hotel mark worldwide by 2025.
