Hyatt to Acquire Dream Hotel Group for Base Price of $125M

CHICAGO, IL – A Hyatt Hotels Corp. affiliate has agreed to acquire Dream Hotel Group’s lifestyle hotel brand and management platform for a base purchase price of $125 million, with up to an additional $175 million during the next six years as properties enter the pipeline and open.

The acquisition includes a portfolio of 12 managed or franchised lifestyle hotels, with another 24 signed long-term management agreements for hotels expected to open in the future. The purchase includes the Dream Hotels, the Chatwal Hotels and Unscripted Hotels brands, with properties across the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Once the acquisition is complete, the transaction will add more than 1,700 hotel rooms to Hyatts lifestyle portfolio. The addition will increase Hyatt’s room count in New York City by more than 30%, and it will expand Hyatt’s brand footprint in additional key markets such as Nashville, Hollywood, South Beach, Durham and the Catskills.

The stabilized management fees associated with the base purchase price of $125 million are anticipated to be $12 million and, to the extent the contingent purchase price of $175 million is paid, additional stabilized management fees are anticipated to be up to $27 million.

The acquisition continues Hyatt’s asset-light growth strategy. The company acquired Two Roads Hospitality in 2018 and Apple Leisure Group in 2021, and more recently, it entered into a collaboration with German Lindner Hotels AG to further grow its brand footprint in Europe.

The transaction is expected to close in the coming months, subject to customary closing conditions.

Upon closing, Dream Hotel Group founder Sant Singh Chatwal will continue to serve as an owner of four open and two future hotels that are expected to join the Hyatt portfolio. Dream Hotel Group CEO Jay Stein will join Hyatt as head of Dream Hotels; Dream Hotel Group’s chief development officer David Kuperberg will join Hyatt as head of development – Dream Hotels; and Dream Hotel Group’s COO Michael Lindenbaum will join Hyatt as global head of operations – Dream Hotels.

“We have tremendous respect for what Dream Hotel Group founder Sant Singh Chatwal and CEO Jay Stein and their team have created and are grateful for the trust being placed in us by Dream Hotel Group to care for their brands and carry their success forward into the future,” states Mark Hoplamazian, president and CEO of Hyatt. “We look forward to continuing our growth journey with more than 600 new Hyatt family members who will further elevate our lifestyle expertise and expand the success of our dedicated lifestyle division. We are excited to offer even more inspiring experiences and celebratory programming to our guests and loyalty members and bring the value of the Hyatt network to a growing number of discerning hotel owners and developers around the world.”

“Hyatt has a proven track record of preserving what makes lifestyle hotels special and is the ideal new home for our growing Dream Hotel Group brands,” says Sant Singh Chatwal, chairman and founder of Dream Hotel Group. “As an owner of Dream Hotel Group properties, I look forward to the next part of our journey and am confident there is a bright future ahead for our hotels, owners, guests and team members as part of the Hyatt family.”

For the transaction, Moelis & Co. LLC served as financial advisor to Hyatt and Latham & Watkins LLP acted as Hyatt’s legal advisor.