Hyatt looks to grow EAME portfolio with two senior appointments

Hyatt has appointed two new senior vice presidents to support accelerated expansion in the Europe, Africa and Middle East (EAME) region.

Over the past five years, the Chicago-based hotel company has achieved 79% growth in EAME, making this a “crucial” region for Hyatt’s global development.

Hyatt also revealed plans to open four new hotels in the UK alone this year, including Park Hyatt London River Thames.

Peter Norman, who has worked in EAME since 2006, has been appointed SVP corporate development and owner relations for EAME, while Felicity Black-Roberts, formerly vice president development for Western Europe, has been promoted to SVP development for EAME to oversee a team of subregional developers, including Anna Corkill, regional vice president of development for the UK and Ireland.

Javier Águila, group president EAME, said: “This jump in scale has leveraged the long-standing strategy focusing on capital cities and urban centers, which built the foundation for growth in secondary destinations, resorts and leisure spaces. We are confident that our strengthened development and transactions structure will allow us to explore new avenues of growth, ultimately accelerating expansion into new markets and segments.”

Norman added: “In conjunction with our focus on growth via portfolios in the region, I look forward to increasingly focusing on maintaining and expanding relationships with our existing hotel owners and franchisees. Our loyal ownership community is responsible for a high share of pipeline contributions to date, propelling our growth in EAME.”

Hyatt recently met its seventh consecutive year of net room growth, with a global record pipeline of 129,000 rooms.

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