The 50-year-old, Chicago-based hospitality company, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, is set to significantly expand its holdings over the next five years, opening a series of landmark properties across South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, according to senior company executives.

The company currently operates 735 hotels and resorts in 45 countries around the world, and employs approximately 90,000 employees.

Expanding times: The Grand Hyatt in Hotel Beijing

Hyatt has built a solid industry reputation for consistently high-quality and global representation across its three main brands – Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt, and Park Hyatt – and maintains that brand preference for Hyatt properties is growing among discerning travellers with each passing year.

Changing travel demands, liberalising economies and a surplus of liquidity has also meant that the privately held Global Hyatt Corporation is now in a position to dramatically accelerate the pace of its international growth, provided it is able to find and secure suitable locations for properties.

“Hyatt will substantially increase the number of properties under its management over the next five years, if all things go according to plan,” said Peter Fulton, Hyatt’s managing director of South West Asia.

“We envision our South West Asia region, which includes the Middle East and India, to be the fastest growing in our portfolio of properties, with several key properties opening this year in the Gulf.”

Hyatt currently operates eight properties in the Middle East and five in India, but has plans for several more in each of the two markets which, together, compose the company’s South West Asia region.