Hyatt Hotels and Resorts" attempt to regain management control of the former Hyatt Regency Curacao Golf Resort was denied by a Curacao court.
Hyatt Hotels and Resorts" attempt to regain management control of the former Hyatt Regency Curacao Golf Resort was denied by a Curacao court. The Trial Court of Curacao last week said Hyatt would not be allowed to resume management of the 350-room resort, which was renamed the Santa Barbara Beach & Golf Resort, according to owner Santa Barbara Hospitality NV. Hyatt was removed from management of the property on Dec. 15 and Benchmark Hospitality was named as the new manager. Santa Barbara Hospitality, which first tried to remove Hyatt management last month, said cost overruns, high operating losses and missed revenue projections led to Hyatt"s ouster from the 20-month-old property. "Hyatt had proven that it was incapable of managing this property in accordance with the terms of the management agreement," said Santa Barbara Hospitality attorney William Brewer III, partner at Bickel &Brewer, in a statement. "The owner will now aggressively press forward in arbitration and all available forums to pursue damages for Hyatt"s alleged breaches of the management agreement." Hyatt, which said it was "extremely disappointed" in the ruling, will continue to pursue a favorable ruling against Santa Barbara Hospitality via arbitration. "We will continue to pursue our claims that the owner"s actions were an egregious breach of our agreement, and we are confident we will receive a favorable ruling," Hyatt said in a separate statement. "We look forward to having this matter resolved in our favor and welcoming our Hyatt customers back to Curacao." |