Hyatt is targetting those “Crazy Rich Asians” (my words, not Hyatt’s) for growth as it sees expanding opportunities in Asia spanning from India to Japan.
Hyatt Looks East To Asia For Growth
In the final quarter of 2024, the growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding “Greater China”) was 12%, outperforming every other world region.
Mark Hoplamazian, the President and CEO of Hyatt, told the Singapore Straits Times:
“We expect our hotel properties in the Asia-Pacific excluding Greater China to have the strongest growth in RevPAR of any of our geographic regions as they benefit from significant inbound international travel and favorable exchange rates. We really feel good about where we stand. We are optimistic about our openings in Asia.”
In the first six weeks of 2025, Hyatt Hotels opened 9,000 rooms, about 40% of its planned net room growth for 2025. Since 2017, Hyatt has doubled its luxury rooms, tripled resort rooms, and quintupled lifestyle rooms worldwide. It operates more than 300 hotels in the Asia-Pacific region with another 200 in development. Per Hoplamazian:
“That is one of the highest ratios of new hotels to existing properties in the company. We expect more than 50 (Asia) openings in 2025 alone. Relative growth here is going to be much higher for a sustained period of time. Personally, I would love to be based here.”
By here he meant Singapore, where Hyatt has recently opened the Grand Hyatt Singapore after a long remodel and now runs The Standard in Singapore as well. Hoplamazian added, “Singapore – and our customer base – deserve it. Singapore has become more essential to global finance and commerce. I want to continue growing, in the right way.”
From India to Japan, Hyatt sees opportunities. Speaking of India, Tom Pritzker, the chairman of Hyatt, recently said:
“The Indian market is absolutely on fire. Business is booming dramatically. It is on the cusp of a 20-year growth run. We are really the only US hospitality company with direct investment in properties in India. The country is so under-hoteliered and we have 55 hotels open and another 45 are in the pipeline. We could have five times that number, and should.”
(throughout much of the rest of Asia, though, Hyatt licenses its brand rather than owns properties)
When asked about balancing innovation investment and cost containment, Hoplamazian saw no tension:
“That is a false choice. The applications of systems, and leaning on how to serve our guests better is an unlock to the top line, which can be unlimited. If you have 50 dollars of revenue and 30 dollars of costs, theoretically you can cut 30 and be done. But what if that 50 dollars (of revenue) became a 100 dollars by introducing new experiences, and so forth?”
Hyatt continues to grow and its leadership continues to say the right things…will it continue to be the viable alternative to Marriott and Hilton in delivering a growing global footprint, meaningful benefits in exchange for loyalty, and not just more properties in the portfolio, but outstanding properties from efficiency to luxury?
I sure hope so.
Been at properties in Asia and the level of standards and service at these hotel chains are on a different level, even without status. With Hyatt further increasing their footprint, it’s only going to drive competition, which on paper should benefit customers.
Which is actually quite funny when you think that the service at the average local 4-5 star business hotel in China and some other countries in the region often leaves a lot to be desired.
I’ve had cleaners banging on my door at 07:45, a receptionist trying to charge me 40 yuan for a taxi fare which ended up being 21 (I did think it should be less than 40, so I asked for a receipt and the scam became obvious), breakfast buffets completely devoid of cheese or any other Western items etc- all at hotels with impressive public areas and very nice rooms.
Stay home. Asia is controversial at best to the non believers, to those who does it’s the only paradise left on earth where they believe more is better and cost can be recuperated by generosity not my penny pinching your core customers. Stay home.
This is a spectacularly pointless comment about the biggest continent on Earth. Paying more for my ticket (or indeed having top tier status) wasn’t any help when I was trying to obtain an airside boarding pass for an international connection at BOM and staff fobbed me off because they had not been empowered to do anything other than what’s in the software in front of them, nor could it be a way of avoiding checking the hand luggage in when flying Super Air Jet from CGK to a destination not served by Garuda (the size limit’s 40*30*20 cm). By the same token, paying about €17 for a very substantial barbeque meal in Busan in no way precluded me from receiving amazing service from the waiters- while at the same time, in the same city, staying at an upscale hotel belonging to an international chain was fraught with some administrative issues which culminated in a receptionist seeing me outside of the property and literally shouting at me about it in the middle of the street (admittedly, there was a resolution, including an apology, when I subsequently emailed the management with a detailed complaint)
Asia isn’t a monolith. Far from telling others to stay at home, you really should get out more!
Ah, forgot the best story – I had to wait 20+ minutes checking in because the staff were looking for the visa in my passport and refusing to believe my assurances that I didn’t need one. This was at the XiamenAir hotel where a substantial proportion of guests are foreign passengers in transit!
I am done with China. Too many issues and cheap attitudes. SE Asia is fantastic with great service and people happy to see you. The Hyatts are great here.
Honestly, they need to start giving some love to the U.S. Though, I can understand being a bit skittish right now. But seriously, Regency brand is far too inconsistent anymore, Grand is not so Grand in the U.S. and pointless, Centric is lost on me completely and a poor value, Park Hyatt’s in the U.S. are far and few between and desperately need to increase footprint, Alila seems to be becoming adults only and are all over the place with service, Thompson is OK but rooms are not aging well and maintenance of them is getting rough. Marriott is handing them their lunch on the unique hotel category with Autographs as Destination and Unbounds are far and few between.
I love Hyatt as a program and Lifetime Globalist benefits are solid. But really, the U.S. seems to be an after thought anymore other than Thompson growth.
Valid. Remember the last HR in the USA where you actually enjoyed the club lounge? Me neither.
Actually I just recalled one: The HR JFK. You have to pay for a cab or Uber and it’s a casino hotel (doesn’t bother me but some feel differently), there are very limited food options on premise, and you can’t reach anything on foot but the club lounge has surprisingly good food and drink in the evening and the breakfast is pretty good for a domestic lounge.
Pritzker thinks India doesn’t have enough hotels, and yet the room rates I pay at “western standard” Indian hotels are about where they were 20-25 years ago for me.
But if Hyatt wants to ramp up its footprint in India, great for me if it means cheap Hyatt nights.