History of Hyatt Resorts

History of Hyatt Vacation Club

Hyatt, one of the world's leading hospitality brands, has been an integral part of the lodging establishment ever since entrepreneurs Hyatt von Dehn and Jack D. Crouch opened their first hotel, Hyatt House, in 1957 near the Los Angeles International Airport.

Ironically, Hyatt von Dehn only operated the company for a short time before tiring of the industry and selling his share of the company to Jay Pritzker. It was Pritzker, and his brother Don, who would take over the day to day operations of the company and, through acquiring motels and hotels in California, would begin building the Hyatt empire.

In 1969, Hyatt went international with its first hotel overseas, the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong. The Grand Hyatt and Park Hyatt brands were introduced in 1980, with the opening of the Hyatt Regency Maui in 1980 launching the company beyond hotels and into the vacation resort industry.

Launch of Hyatt Vacation Club

By 1994, the Hyatt hospitality brand was well established globally and the company decided to enter into the timeshare business with the launch of the Hyatt Vacation Club through the subsidiary known as Hyatt Vacation Ownership, Inc.

In 1995, Hyatt opened the first timeshare property within its Vacation Club, Sunset Harbor in Key West, Florida. This flagship resort of the Hyatt Vacation Club offers chic residences overlooking the Gulf of Mexico side of the island and is only a few steps from Duval Street and Mallory Square.

From 1998 to 2008, Hyatt Vacation Club would open another 13 timeshare properties, stretching from Florida to California and including the diversity of ski destinations in Aspen and Breckenridge, Colorado, plus the Caribbean flare of Puerto Rico.

In June 2004, the lodging assets of the Pritzker family (Jay Pritzker had died in 1999), including the Hyatt Corporation and Hyatt Vacation Ownership, were consolidated under the new Global Hyatt Corporation.

Rebranding to Hyatt Residence Club

In 2009, Global Hyatt Corporation would once again change its name, this time to Hyatt Hotels Corporation. As part of the rebranding effort, the Hyatt Vacation Ownership subsidiary would change its name to Hyatt Residential Group, Inc. This would result in the rebranding of the Vacation Club into its current title, Hyatt Residence Club, in addition to the introduction of the group's whole ownership hospitality brand called Hyatt Residences.

Later in 2009, the company went public with an IPO which raised $950 million.

2010 saw the opening of the next Hyatt timeshare resort, Hyatt Siesta Key Beach, on the Gulf coast of Florida. Located on some of the most pristine coastal property in Florida, Hyatt Siesta Key Beach provides a combination of luxurious vacation accommodation with a focus on the area's natural beauty. This is what customer's would expect from a luxury vacation club.

The Hyatt Residence Club now includes the following properties:

• Hyatt Highlands Inn, Carmel, California - close to the world-class golf facilities of Pebble Beach and the wonderful natural beauty of Carmel
• Hyatt Beach House, Key West, Florida - enjoy the look and feel of old Key West with its famous galleries and restaurants
• Hyatt Coconut Plantation, Bonita Springs, Florida - on the upscale Naples coast in Southwest Florida, take in the eco-tours and their own private island accessible only by ferry
• Hyatt Grand Aspen, Aspen, Colorado - a world-class skiing and winter sports destination which transitions to summer food and music festivals
• Hyatt Hacienda Del Mar, Dorado, Puerto Rico - located on one of the world's most beautiful beaches, just 22 miles from the charm of historic Old San Juan
• Hyatt High Sierra Lodge, Incline Village, Nevada - a magnificent mountain hideaway overlooking Lake Tahoe's north shore
• Hyatt Main Street Station, Breckenridge, Colorado - the pioneering spirit of the Old West in one of the most spectacular ski destinations in North America
• Hyatt Mountain Lodge, Avon, Colorado - a charming Alpine locale in the heart of Beaver Creek Village with skiing in winter and horseback riding in summer
• Hyatt Pinon Pointe, Sedona, Arizona - explore hidden canyons and red-rock trails in this vantage point between Phoenix and the Grand Canyon
• Hyatt Siesta Key Beach, Siesta Key, Florida - one of the most beautiful beaches in the country, with spectacular sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico
• Hyatt Sunset Harbor, Key West, Florida - explore this eclectic southern-most point in the continental U.S.
• Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch, San Antonio, Texas - just minutes from the historic Alamo in downtown San Antonio, but with all the mystique of the old West.
• Hyatt Windward Pointe, Key West, Florida - overlooking the Atlantic side of Key West and close to Smathers Beach, Key West's premier white-sand beach
• Northstar Lodge, Truckee, California - in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains, have access to ski-in/ski-out gondolas, championship golf and fantastic mountain views
• Residences at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, Avon, Colorado - located at the Park Hyatt Hotel right in Beaver Creek

Hyatt Residence Club will be adding to this collection with the 2012 announcement of a new 131-unit Hyatt timeshare resort on the fabulous Ka'anapali Beach in Maui, Hawaii. Scheduled to open in 2014, the new Hyatt Ka'anapali Beach, a Hyatt Residence Club will be the group's first Hawaiian property.

The Hyatt Ka'anapali Beach timeshare will consist of 100 two-bedroom units along with 19 one-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom units. Additional features will include an 8,000 sq. ft. open-air lobby, casual dining restaurant, onsite retail store, pool with a pool bar and a multi-level pool deck, and a 3,300 sq. ft. fitness center.

Hyatt Timeshare Exchange Options

Hyatt timeshare owners in the Hyatt Residence Club earn points through the Hyatt Residence Club Exchange, which allows them to trade points for stays at any of the 15 properties within the Hyatt Residence Club network. Owners can also exchange beyond the Hyatt program through an affiliation with timeshare exchange provider Interval International, with access to more than 2,600 resorts worldwide within the Interval network.

A major advantage to Hyatt timeshare ownership is the ability to travel within the network of Hyatt-branded hotels across the globe. Hyatt Residence Club members are part of the Hyatt Gold Passport program, the company's loyalty rewards program which allows owners the ability to earn Gold Passport points to vacation at one of the company's 524 properties across 46 countries. Gold Passport points earned at Hyatt Residence Club properties are also accepted at all Hyatt-branded hotels worldwide.