Hyatt becomes 1st US hotel company to terminate hotel contract over Ukraine war.

Hyatt cut ties with a hotel in Moscow and will end service provisions at a property in the former Winter Olympics host city of Sochi, Russia, the Chicago-based hotel company announced Wednesday.

It’s the first publicly known instance of a major Western hotel company scaling back its existing hotel presence in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

Hyatt’s “association, contracts and relationship” with the Hyatt Regency Moscow Petrovsky Park ended late last month, a Hyatt spokesperson told TPG. The company is also suspending the “provision of services” at the Hyatt Regency Sochi at the end of Thursday.

When asked for clarification on what this entails, the Hyatt spokesperson indicated World of Hyatt members staying at the Sochi hotel would not be eligible for program benefits like earning points and on-property benefits.

“To the extent we are able to do so, we are working with the hotel to ensure a smooth transition of operations from our management structure and brand to minimize impact on colleagues and guests,” the spokesperson added. “Members with reservations at this hotel for stays April 15, 2022, and beyond may contact the hotel directly.”

As of April 15, Hyatt’s footprint in Russia will be three hotels, the spokesperson later told TPG.

Major Western hotel companies doing business in Russia — Hyatt, Hilton, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International and Accor — moved in lockstep last month to freeze new developments, investments and openings in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Several closed corporate offices in Moscow.

It’s unlikely these companies will quickly follow Hyatt’s lead in a widespread manner.

“I think it’s going to be a case-by-case basis unless the war gets any uglier than it is today,” said Nicolas Graf, associate dean at New York University’s Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality. “It’s a reputational issue more than anything else.”

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