This article was written by Phineas Upham
Hyatt began with two entrepreneurs: Hyatt Robert von Dehn and Jack Dyer Crouch. Von Dehn never had much passion for the business, even though his name is on it, so he sold his shares within the first few years of operation to a man named Jay Pritzker. Pritzker’s younger brother Donald took on the duties of day-to-day management of the hotel as a student of Jay and Jack Dyer Crouch.
Donald made the Hyatt into one of the fastest growing hotel chains in the United States, but died unexpectedly in 1972 at the age of 39. He was in the middle of a game of tennis with his wife at the Honolulu Hyatt when he collapsed suddenly.
Jay came back to the leadership position after Donald’s death, and helped to continue his work. The Hyatt quickly became a major player in the hospitality industry, and moved into overseas operations with a hotel in Hong Kong.
Hyatt consolidated all of its operations under one global brand in 2004, which included all of the Pritzker family holdings. This essentially provided focus for the company, and organized all of its holdings under a single balance sheet.
Hyatt is a global brand that offers primarily full-service lodgings under several brands. It also manages hotels designed for families and businesses that are based closer to airports, and runs a series of timeshare properties. The Hyatt in Hollywood has been used in several films, including Lethal Weapon 2 and This is Spinal Tap.
