Hyatt On Expansion Spree, Plans To Open 14 Hotels In India

Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) is leaving no stone unturned to fortify its presence worldwide. The company has announced plans to expand its presence from 19 cities to 27 cities in India by 2020.

In the next 24 months, the company is planning to add 14 new hotels. Apart from larger cities, Hyatt is focusing on leisure and cultural destinations, and emerging cities of India to strengthen its foothold in the country. Dhruva Rathore, vice president development-India Hyatt, said that “Our heritage and experience in this complex market, paired with the strong relationships we hold with local developers and owners has helped make India one of the top three growth markets for Hyatt globally.”

In 2019, the company will open Hyatt Regency Kochi Malayattoor, Hyatt Regency Dharamshala Resort, Hyatt Regency Thrissur and Grand Hyatt Gurgaon. Next year, it plans to open Hyatt Place Bangalore Urbana, Hyatt Regency Jaipur Mansarovar, Hyatt Regency Dehradun, Hyatt Place Vadodara, Hyatt Regency Trivandrum, Hyatt Place Jaipur Malviya Nagar and Hyatt Regency Udaipur.

At the beginning of the current year, Hyatt announced that it has rebranded Hyatt Place Goa to Hyatt Centric Candolim Goa. Notably, this marked Hyatt Centric brand’s second venture in India. The 167-roomed hotel lies in the heart of the travel destination and offers full-service facilities.

Expansion Strategies Bode Well

Hyatt aims to differentiate its brands from one another by providing distinct travel experiences. The company is also consistently trying to expand its presence worldwide and has expansion plans in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Therefore, an essential aspect of the company’s riveting growth potential is its strong brand presence and continual expansion in higher growth market and the under-penetrated markets such as India and China.

These apart, the company has announced more expansion plans into diverse international markets including Australia, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, the Netherlands and others.

Meanwhile, Hyatt’s new signings across its brands globally have consistently outpaced openings and this trend is expected to continue in 2019. In 2018, it registered net room growth of 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. For 2019, the company expects unit growth of roughly 7-7.5%, reflecting 80 new hotel openings.

Price Performance

In the past three months, shares of Hyatt have increased 6.2% compared with the industry’s 15.9% rally. Stocks like Extended Stay America, Inc. (NASDAQ:STAY) , Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:VAC) and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) , which belong to the same industry, have also gained 18.9%, 34.9% and 16.1%, respectively, in the same period.

Hyatt has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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