Hyatt Explores Brand Acquisitions to Fuel European Growth
Skift Take
Seizing smart, strategic opportunities coming out of the pandemic is top of mind at Hyatt, of course. But the Chicago-based company shouldn’t expect any bargains in its potential European brand hunt. The competition is too fierce.
Hyatt is almost back to profitability and planning a return to a pre-pandemic growth target.
The Chicago-based hotel company, which reported this week a small $9 million loss for the second quarter, has its eyes set on growing its European portfolio. This plan pre-dates the pandemic, but the health crisis delayed plans to beef up a presence across the region.
Now is the right time to go on a European hotel shopping excursion, Hyatt leaders say.
“We feel that we’ve come through the pandemic and [are] now into recovery mode at a healthy clip with respect to earnings and cashflow,” Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian said on an investor call Wednesday. “As always, growing the company in a very deliberate, strategic way is our top priority.”
That deliberate, strategic growth largely centers on Europe, where Hyatt saw more opportunities to grow its brands before the health crisis. The company is currently paying attention to smaller brands and “groupings of hotels” there
