CHICAGO—Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced that a wholly owned Hyatt subsidiary plans to purchase the 1,641-room Peabody Orlando hotel for $717 million from UST Hotel Joint Venture, Ltd., comprised of affiliates of Belz Enterprises and Estein and Associates USA, Ltd. The transaction is expected to close on October 1, and the hotel will be rebranded as Hyatt Regency Orlando Convention Center upon closing.
“This transaction brings us a very high-quality hotel in one of the most popular cities in the world and enhances the Hyatt Regency brand – already a leader in meetings and conventions – with a presence adjacent to one of the largest convention facilities in the U.S.,” said Stephen Haggerty, global head, real estate and capital strategy for Hyatt. “This addition to the Hyatt Regency portfolio will create value for the company in multiple ways and is consistent with our strategy of applying our capital to increase our brand presence in key markets.”
Hyatt Regency Orlando Convention Center will be the sixth Hyatt-branded hotel in Orlando, but the first large convention hotel presence for Hyatt in the market. The property will be a significant addition to the Hyatt Regency brand, which is well known for extensive meetings facilities around the world. With more than 200,000 square feet of meeting space – and with over two million square feet of space in the Orange County Convention Center to which the hotel is attached – the hotel will offer the most meeting space of any Hyatt Regency hotel in the U.S. and will position the company to compete successfully for in-house group business in addition to citywide convention business.
The hotel is in excellent condition and enjoys a strong reputation among meeting planners and guests. Because the hotel recently completed a nearly $440 million multi-year expansion and renovation, Hyatt does not plan to invest significant capital in the near future.
Hyatt expects the hotel to generate approximately $10 million of EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2013 and approximately $55 million of EBITDA in 2014.
