Strategic tie up for hotels in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Amritsar, and Ahmedabad.
 
Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced that a Hyatt affiliate has signed a management agreement with IHHR Hospitality Private Limited (IHHR) for five Ista hotels in India to be re-branded by Hyatt.

Under the agreement, the fully operational Ista hotels will be known as Hyatt Bangalore, Hyatt Pune, Hyatt Hyderabad, Hyatt Ahmedabad and Hyatt Amritsar. The branding effort is expected to be completed by March 2013. The agreements were signed by both parties on October 29, 2012 in London.

Each of the five Ista hotels enjoy premium locations within their respective cities and reflect a contemporary and modern design that offers the business traveler a convenient and stylish place to live, dine and meet. In recognition of their standing as one of India's most successful home-grown brands, Ista Bangalore and Ista Hyderabad have been awarded a position on the Condé Nast Traveler's prestigious Hot List in 2006 and 2007, respectively. They were also ranked among the top business hotels in South Asia by Travel + Leisure magazine.

"As a company we see a perfect fit with IHHR's forward-thinking philosophy and vision," said Ratnesh Verma, Senior Vice President, Real Estate and Development for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts in Asia-Pacific. "We feel honored to have been selected as the new brand for their portfolio in India. It is our constant endeavor to create preference for our brand by having hotels in markets where our customers are traveling. This opportunity allows Hyatt to further consolidate its distribution in India and offer its customers a choice in new markets such as Bangalore, Amritsar and Ahmedabad. The re-branding will also enhance our representation with a great collection of high quality hotels that are already recognized as market leaders in guest experience and performance."

The mutually beneficial association between the two hospitality companies will, in turn, enable the five hotels to enlarge their global reach, become a part of Hyatt's popular Hyatt Gold Passport loyalty program and other marketing initiatives, take advantage of Hyatt's well-established systems and processes, and participate in Hyatt's extensive network of hotels in 45 countries. This deal will also allow IHHR to re-focus its efforts on further developments and its other brands, which include the award-winning destination spa brand Ananda in the Himalayas.

Ashok Khanna, managing director of IHHR said, "We are proud of our achievement in establishing the five Ista Hotels since the inception of the brand in 2006. We wanted to tap into the confidence and power of young India, so we listened to what those customers wanted and worked with excellent architects and designers to create Ista.

Clearly we got it right, because we won awards from the writers and readers of highly respected publications. The time is now right to step back to our role as owners and hand these Ista hotels to a superb brand in Hyatt, which can take the business to the next level, through its marketing and brand strength. We are delighted with this relationship."

"The association with IHHR comes at a particularly poignant time for us at Hyatt as we will mark 30 years since Hyatt Regency Delhi opened as the first Hyatt hotel in India. Since then, nine more hotels have opened under various Hyatt brands in India; and with the addition of the five Ista hotels, our portfolio stands at 15 business and resort hotels in India. We want to continue building on our brand's long presence and relationships in the country and are fortunate to be a major part of the Indian hospitality industry today. We are grateful to all our developers, owners and guests for their belief and trust in Hyatt," adds Verma.

The re-branding of the five Ista hotels as Hyatt Hotels, will mark the entry of the fourth brand from the company's portfolio into India. Currently, India has five Hyatt Regency hotels in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, two Grand Hyatt hotels in Mumbai and Goa, and three Park Hyatt hotels in Goa, Chennai and Hyderabad. There are currently more than 50 Hyatt-branded hotels under development in India, which are expected to add more than 12,000 rooms.

The Hyatt Place brand will be the next to enter India, with Hyatt Place Hampi opening later this year, followed by Hyatt Place Pune, Hinjewadi. The next six months will also mark the opening of three other Hyatt hotels in India – Hyatt Regency Gurgaon, Hyatt Regency Ludhiana and Hyatt Raipur.