Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into a franchise agreement with both Henderson Park and Hines for the first Grand Hyatt hotel in Greece, Grand Hyatt Athens. The opening is expected in Q3 2018. The hotel will be managed by Kokari Limited and will deliver bold and vibrant luxury for guests in this iconic destination.

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Grand Hyatt Athens (Photo: Business Wire)

Grand Hyatt Athens (Photo: Business Wire)

“We are thrilled to announce plans for the first Hyatt property in Athens with Henderson Park, Hines and Kokari,” said Takuya Aoyama, vice president, development for Eastern Europe, Russia & CIS at Hyatt. “We have long sought to bring the Grand Hyatt brand’s celebratory luxury to the Greek capital. This deal represents a significant milestone in Southeast Europe, an important growth market for Hyatt with recent Hyatt development announcements in Turkey and Bulgaria.”

The 310-room hotel will be centrally located on Syngrou Avenue in Athens’ Koukaki district, close to golf courses, restaurants and within walking distance of Filopappos Hill. Grand Hyatt Athens will be uniquely designed to reflect its Greek culture with dramatic architecture and innovative design. First-class accommodations will welcome guests along with a spectacular rooftop bar and restaurant, an outdoor swimming pool and a stunning view of the Acropolis. Additional amenities will include best-in-class food and beverage venues, more than 11,600 square feet of meeting space as well as a spa and fitness center.

“Our investment into Grand Hyatt Athens was driven by its potential as a luxury asset with a historic heritage,” said Nick Weber, founding partner of Henderson Park. “Grand Hyatt is one of the world’s leading premium brands and working with Hyatt on this hotel is an endorsement of our ambitious strategy and a strong addition to Henderson Park’s portfolio of iconic European hotels. We hope this marks the first stage of building a rewarding, long-term relationship with Hyatt.”

The Greek capital is one of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations with over 4.5 million visitors a year. With its premium offerings and central location, Grand Hyatt Athens will appeal to business and leisure travelers who seek exceptional settings.

“We are proud to work with Hines, Henderson Park and the Grand Hyatt brand for the operation of the new Grand Hyatt Athens,” said Tina and Yannis Daskalantonakis, co-founders of Y&T Daskalantonakis Knossian Group, which owns Kokari Limited. “With a global mindset behind our hospitality, we are confident that the hotel will meet our guests’ needs.”

Paul Gomopoulos, managing director, Hines Greece, added, “We are delighted to work with Hyatt on this Grand Hyatt hotel, a global brand with the caliber of offerings we need for this market. We look forward to delivering an experience in Athens worthy of celebration.”

The hotel is currently undergoing a major renovation and will mark the second Hyatt hotel in Greece – joining its sister property Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki.

For more information, please visit grandhyatt.com.

The term “Hyatt” is used in this release for convenience to refer to Hyatt Hotels Corporation and/or one or more of its affiliates.

About Grand Hyatt

Around the world, Grand Hyatt hotels unlock the extraordinary in every moment by creating experiences beyond expectation. Located at the crossroads of local culture and global business within major gateway cities and resort destinations, each Grand Hyatt hotel is uniquely designed to reflect its own distinct environment and provides a hub for travelers and locals alike. Grand Hyatt hotels exemplify the pursuit of life lived grandly offering guests superior service, first-class accommodations and an abundance of options within a multicultural backdrop of dramatic architecture and innovative design. Grand Hyatt properties boast inventive restaurants, luxury spas, fitness centers, and business and meeting facilities. Grand Hyatt hotels stand to make every moment memorable through their commitment to living grand every day. For additional information or to make a reservation, please visit grandhyatt.com. Follow @GrandHyatt on Facebook and Instagram, and tag photos with #GoGrand.

About Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 14 premier brands. As of March 31, 2018, the Company's portfolio included more than 700 properties in more than 50 countries across six continents. The Company's purpose to care for people so they can be their best informs its business decisions and growth strategy and is intended to attract and retain top colleagues, build relationships with guests and create value for shareholders. The Company's subsidiaries develop, own, operate, manage, franchise, license or provide services to hotels, resorts, branded residences, vacation ownership properties, and fitness and spa locations, including under the Park Hyatt®, Miraval®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt®, Andaz®, Hyatt Centric®, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Ziva™, Hyatt Zilara™, Hyatt Residence Club® and exhale® brand names. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.

About Henderson Park

Henderson Park is a real estate investment platform which was launched by Nick Weber in late 2016 and has already built a $3.4 billion portfolio of landmark European real estate assets across four countries. Henderson Park is backed by three cornerstone investors: Stone Point Capital, Kuwait Investment Authority and Wafra Investment Advisory Group.

Henderson Park has been established to invest in European real estate, primarily targeting gateway cities and seeking investments in both assets and companies. Henderson Park will pursue opportunities across a wide variety of commercial real estate sectors.

Henderson Park is led by Nick Weber, its Founding Partner and CEO. Nick has over 20 years of real estate experience, including most recently as Head of Europe for Mount Kellett and previously at Goldman Sachs for 14 years, where he was a Partner and Co-Head of its European Special Situations Group.

About Hines

Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 201 cities in 24 countries. Hines has approximately $111 billion of assets under management, including $60 billion for which Hines provides fiduciary investment management services, and $51 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services. The firm has 108 developments currently underway around the world. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,295 properties, totaling over 422 million square feet. The firm’s current property and asset management portfolio includes 506 properties, representing over 210 million square feet. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a pioneering commitment to sustainability, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world. Since entering Europe in 1991, Hines had grown its European and Eurasian platforms to include a presence in 51 cities in ten countries and Hines currently has €14.0 billion of assets under management in Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.

For more information about Hines, visit www.hines.com

About Kokari Limited

KOKARI is part of Y&T Daskalantonakis KNOSSIAN Group. The Group have had ownership and management interest in a well-diversified portfolio ranging from 4 stars to 5 star and deluxe properties (among others King George Palace Athens, Corfu Imperial, Mykonos Blue, Macedonia Palace) with over 40 hotels with more than 10,000 rooms in Greece and South-Eastern Europe, with an aggregate value that exceeds USD 2 billion. Currently the Group is a shareholder and management operator of Sofia Hotel Balkan in Sofia Bulgaria and Metropol Palace in Belgrade Serbia both Starwood Luxury Collection Hotels. Both properties are considered to be the most historical and prestigious luxury hotels of Sofia and Belgrade respectively, located in the heart of both cities recognized as architectural landmarks. Most recently the Group acquired the ex-Radisson Park-Inn in Sofia, Bulgaria and is in the process of a renovation and rebranding program in order to convert it to a 5 star Internationally Branded hotel. The Group has long-standing relationships with major US and UK Private Equity Real Estate firms investing in hotel assets.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Forward-Looking Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “may,” “could,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “likely,” “will,” “would” and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by us and our management, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, the rate and pace of economic recovery following economic downturns; levels of spending in business and leisure segments as well as consumer confidence; declines in occupancy and average daily rate; the financial condition of, and our relationships with, third-party property owners, franchisees and hospitality venture partners; the possible inability of third-party owners, franchisees or development partners to access the capital necessary to fund current operations or implement our plans for growth; risks associated with potential acquisitions and dispositions and the introduction of new brand concepts; failure to successfully complete proposed transactions (including the failure to satisfy closing conditions or obtain required approvals); changes in the competitive environment in our industry, including as a result of industry consolidation, and the markets where we operate; general volatility of the capital markets and our ability to access such markets; and other risks discussed in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which filings are available from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These factors are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by any of our forward-looking statements. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are made only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information or future events, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.