A development team which will be dedicated exclusively to the Americas, heightens an aggressive growth strategy -

This new and expanded team, led by seasoned industry veteran Jim Abrahamson, will be responsible for all real estate acquisition, joint venture investments, management contracts and franchising for all Hyatt brands in North America and Latin America.

"This new team structure and expanded organization underscores Hyatt's aggressive global growth strategy for all our brands," said Haggerty.

"With the team we have in place, arguably the best in the industry, we're confident we are well positioned to expand our company-wide distribution, bringing our signature, high performing Hyatt brands to markets that offer the right opportunities for our guests, our owners and the company."

"This streamlined team approach across all Hyatt segments and brands gives our development partners access to Hyatt's foremost market experts who can immediately assess which of Hyatt's signature brands are the right fit for any project," said Abrahamson.

"We see virtually unlimited opportunity in the Americas region for Hyatt's signature luxury and upscale brands and our Hyatt Place and Hyatt Summerfield Suites combined pipeline is already 250 hotels strong. With this team's depth and breadth of industry knowledge, we're certain these numbers will continue to grow at a record pace."