Hyatt Hotels Corporation Class A (H.US) completes $2 billion real estate sale, firmly advancing asset-light model.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation Class A announced that it has completed the sale of its real estate asset portfolio, which was previously acquired from Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V., to Tortuga Resorts for approximately $2 billion. In addition, Hyatt can earn up to an additional $143 million if certain operating benchmarks are met. As part of the transaction, Hyatt retained $200 million in preferred equity in Tortuga. Hyatt has signed a 50-year management agreement with Tortuga for 13 out of the 14 hotels in the asset portfolio. The sale of the real estate asset portfolio includes 15 all-inclusive resorts located in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. Previously, on September 18th, Hyatt sold one of the hotels in the portfolio to an independent third-party buyer for $22 million. With this transaction, Hyatt has now sold the entire Playa real estate asset portfolio for a total of $2 billion. The sale of the real estate asset portfolio demonstrates Hyatt's commitment to its asset-light business model and creates value for shareholders. The proceeds from the sale of the real estate will be used to repay a portion of the delayed draw term loan raised for the acquisition of Playa assets. Hyatt expects its net leverage ratio to remain at a level consistent with the threshold required to maintain its investment-grade credit rating. It was disclosed that due to the damages caused by Hurricane Melissa in October, Hyatt expects to close seven hotels in Jamaica until the fourth quarter of 2026. Hyatt Hotels Corporation Class A's stock price has increased by 4.2% year-to-date. Wall Street analysts have a unanimous "buy" rating for the stock.