Hyatt's (H) Regency Brand Debuts In Puerto Rico, Eyes Growth

In a bid to capitalize on demand for hotels in international markets, Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) continues to expand its presence globally. Recently, it announced the opening of Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico. This will mark the company’s first full-service hotel on the island.

Notably, the 579-roomed property located in Rio Grande and Puerto Rico’s northeastern shoreline completed its construction as part of its multi-million transformation in August 2019. Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico, formerly known as the Gran Meliá Hotel and relaunched as The Resort at Coco Beach, was acquired by Monarch Alternative Capital in partnership with Royal Palm Companies in 2019.

The company is confident about the success of the property as it is in close proximity to San Juan International Airport and famous attractions like Old San Juan, El Morro Castle, and Bio Bay Fajardo. Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico will also join four select-service Hyatt hotels in Puerto Rico namely Hyatt House San Juan, Hyatt Place Manati, Hyatt Place San Juan Bayamon and Hyatt Place San Juan City Center.

Expansion to Help Counter Competition

Recently, the company announced the opening of Hyatt Regency Portland that will mark its first full-service and convention center hotel in the city. Also, its affiliate inked a deal to develop its first Grand Hansa, The Unbound Collection-branded Hotel in Finland. Hyatt also opened its first Andaz-branded hotel in Dubai, Andaz Dubai The Palm.

Hyatt is also expanding its presence in the diverse international markets including Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. As of Sep 30, 2019, the company's portfolio included more than 875 properties in 60 countries across six continents.

The company has announced further expansion plans in Australia, Brazil, Germany, the U.K., Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, the Netherlands and others. We believe this will help it to counter competition from the likes of Marriott (NASDAQ:MAR) and Hilton (NYSE:H) .

Meanwhile, the company’s new brand signings have consistently boosted its presence globally. This trend is expected to continue in the current year and beyond. In 2018, Hyatt registered net room growth of 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. For 2019, it expects unit growth of 7.25-7.75%, suggesting 85 new hotel openings.

Hyatt currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). In the past six months, shares of Hyatt have gained 19.1% compared with the industry’s 11.6% growth.

A Key Pick

A better-ranked stock worth considering in the same space is Civeo Corp. (NYSE:CVEO) , which carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Civeo reported better-than-expected earnings in three of the trailing four quarters, the beat being 42.5%, on average.

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