Hyatt Hotels Corp. inked a deal to acquire Dream Hotel Group, a lifestyle hotel specialist, for an initial payment of $125M, adding about 1,700 rooms to the hotelier's portfolio.

Hyatt will also pay as much as an additional $175M over the next six years, as properties that Dream Hotel has in the planning stages come online.

Dream Hotel's brands include Dream Hotels, Chatwal Hotels and Unscripted Hotels, with a current total of 12 properties in the Americas, Asia and Europe. The company is planning to open 24 more hotels, which Hyatt will manage as they open.

Hyatt’s brand footprint will thus expand in a number of markets, including Nashville, Tennessee; Hollywood, California; South Beach, Florida; Durham, North Carolina; and several locations in New York City and one in the Catskills.

As Dream opens new properties, Hyatt will add properties in such destinations as Las Vegas, Saint Lucia and Doha, Qatar.

This acquisition continues what Hyatt refers to as its "asset-light" growth strategy, following its transactions to acquire Two Roads Hospitality in 2018 and Apple Leisure Group in 2021. In October, Hyatt struck a deal with Lindner Hotels AG, a German hotelier, to further grow Hyatt’s brand footprint in Europe.