Hyatt's Regency Brand Debuts In Kerala, Expansion On Track

In a bid to maintain its position as the fastest-growing global hospitality company, Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) has been strengthening its presence worldwide. Recently, it announced the opening of Hyatt Regency Thrissur. This marks the company’s second Hyatt branded hotel in Kerala and the 13th Hyatt Regency branded hotel in India.

Notably, the 77-roomed property, situated in the cultural capital of Kerala, is in close proximity to the Thrissur IT Park, iconic monuments, museums, galleries and shopping at the Kalamandalam Centre. Also, guests can visit Bible Tower, the tallest church tower in Asia, along with Athirapally Falls. Cochin International Airport and railway station are also few minutes away from the hotel.

"The Hyatt Regency brand caters to leisure as well as business travellers, which are steadily growing in the state. This launch underlines the importance of the globally celebrated Hyatt Regency brand in India, which is now present in 13 cities across the country," as stated by Sunjae Sharma, vice president, India operations, Hyatt.

Expansion to Help Counter Competition

Recently, the company announced the opening of Hyatt Regency Hengqin in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China. It also announced the opening of the Hyatt Regency Portland.

Hyatt is also expanding presence in diverse international markets including Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. As of Sep 30, 2019, the company's portfolio included more than 875 properties in 60 countries across six continents.

The company has announced further expansion plans in Australia, Brazil, Germany, the U.K., Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, the Netherlands and others. We believe this will help it to counter competition from the likes of Civeo Corp. (NYSE:CVEO) and Hilton (NYSE:HLT) .

Meanwhile, the company’s new brand signings have consistently boosted its presence globally. This trend is expected to continue in the current year and beyond. In 2018, Hyatt registered net room growth of 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. For 2019, it expects unit growth of 7.25-7.75%, suggesting 85 new hotel openings.

Hyatt currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). In the past six months, shares of Hyatt have gained 12.9% compared with its industry’s 8.4% growth.

A Key Pick

A better-ranked stock worth considering in the same space is Marriot Vacations Worldwide Corp. (NYSE:VAC) , which sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 9%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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