The TimeShare Times: Hyatt Hotel and Timeshares Voted Best Hotel

2006 PlanetOut Travel Awards Honors Hyatt Hotels & Resorts as Best Hotel Collection for LGBT Travelers

(New York, NY) - PlanetOut has awarded Hyatt Hotels & Resorts 'Best Hotel Collection' for its commitment, sensitivity, and appeal to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) travelers.

PlanetOut's 2006 Travel Awards recognize achievements in LGBT travel during the past year, as well as bring attention to an industry increasingly opening doors to LGBT travelers. Founded in 1992, the awards were previously known as the OUT AND ABOUT Travel Awards.

"It's a tremendous honor for Hyatt to be recognized by some of the world's leading and most respected experts in gay travel," said Jeff Flater, assistant vice president of resort marketing for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. "We're committed to helping set the standard for excellence in gay and lesbian travel."

In addition to recognizing Hyatt for exceeding the expectations of LGBT guests, judges of the PlanetOut Travel Awards singled out Hyatt both for its comprehensive practices promoting equal rights and sensitivity in the workplace and for its innovative national marketing campaign targeting LGBT leisure travelers.

Hyatt, which boasts a mandatory diversity awareness and sensitivity training program, was named one of the "Best Places to Work" for LGBT employees in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2006 survey of corporate workplaces.

Hyatt earned a perfect score for its policies, including protecting employees against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and its parity of health care benefits for domestic partners.

Over the past year, Hyatt's Resorts division has also mounted a highly- praised advertising campaign featuring gay-specific ads in a wide range of both print and online outlets. Designed by Prime Access, Inc., one of the nation's leading advertising and marketing agencies specializing in marketing to LGBT consumers, the campaign has received widespread acclaim in the LGBT community.

About The PlanetOut Travel Awards The PlanetOut Travel Awards, chosen by a panel of PlanetOut travel editors and gay travel experts, are selected on the basis of excellence, innovation and solid gay-family travel values. Panelists include: Ed Salvato, the travel editor for PlanetOut Inc., which includes Gay.com, PlanetOut.com and the OUT&ABOUT TravelGuide; Steve Rothaus, a staff reporter covering the LGBT community at The Miami Herald; and Kenneth Kiesnoski, editor of Destinations, and Travel Weekly, a leading travel trade newspaper.

About Global Hyatt There are 215 Hyatt branded hotels and resorts (over 90,000 rooms) in 43 countries around the world, operating under the HyattÒ, Hyatt RegencyÒ, Grand HyattÒ and Park HyattÒ brands. Currently, there are an additional 30 Hyatt hotels and resorts under development, including 11 new hotels in China. Hyatt Corporation (domestic U.S., Canada and Caribbean hotels) and Hyatt International Corporation (international properties) are subsidiaries of Chicago-based Global Hyatt Corporation.

Global Hyatt Corporation is also the owner of Hyatt Vacation Ownership, Inc. operators of the Hyatt Vacation Club (timeshare and fractional residential product), Hyatt Equities, L.L.C. (hotel ownership), Select Hotel Group L.L.C. (which owns, operates and franchises AmeriSuites hotels, Hyatt Place and Summerfield Suites hotels) and U.S. Franchise Systems, Inc. (which franchises Hawthorn Suites, and Microtel Inns and Suites).

... I can concur as when I was a student I use to work for the Hyatt hotel, and it was one of the best places I worked at :-)