Hyatt Hotels has signed a management agreement with JSC Kazakh-Austrian Joint Venture (Rahat JSC) to develop the Hyatt Regency Almaty, Rahat Palace in Kazakhstan.
The 292-room hotel, which is slated to open in 2019, is in the center of Kazakhstan’s commercial and financial capital Almaty. The former Hyatt Regency Almaty operated in the same building between 1995 and 2011. Rahat JSC’s current Rahat Palace Hotel will be converted into the new Hyatt Regency.
“We are delighted to announce the return of the Hyatt Regency brand to Almaty and bring a globally recognized brand to the city that will resonate well with the growing base of business travelers,” Takuya Aoyama, VP of development for Eastern Europe, Russia & CIS at Hyatt, said in a statement. “We look forward to collaborating with Rahat JSC, and believe the hotel will be an exciting development as we build on the strength of the Hyatt Regency brand throughout Central Asia.”
The new Hyatt Regency will be the brand's only property in Kazakshtan as well as its fourth hotel in Central Asia. The brand's portfolio in the region includes the Hyatt Regency Bishkek in Krygyzstan, the Hyatt Regency Tashkent in Uzbekistan and the Hyatt Regency Dushanbe in Tajikistan. Hyatt Hotels has a total of 139 hotels across Asia. These three are currently its only properties in Central Asia.
Hyatt's expansion across Asia-Pacific also includes the Hyatt Centric Melbourne in Australia. The company signed the 280-hotel in June 2018 with plans for the property to begin operating in 2020. It will be Hyatt Centric's second hotel in Australia. The hotel is near the Docklands and Southbank districts, the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Center and the Crown Entertainment Complex.