• This includes 926 opportunity youth that have already joined Hyatt or a Hyatt hotel across the Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EAME) region.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Hyatt has announced that, since introducing its RiseHY program in 2018, more than 5,700 Opportunity Youth –meaning those from under-resourced communities, between the ages of 16 and 24–, have joined Hyatt or a Hyatt hotel. This marks a pivotal step toward Hyatt’s global commitment to hiring 10,000 Opportunity Youth by 2025.

In the EAME region, 926 young people from under-resourced communities, often disconnected from the economy by lack of education and employment, have joined Hyatt or a Hyatt hotel since 2018 in 96 hotels across 31 countries.

The program puts equal weight on retention, by helping them gain access to new job opportunities, and skills, with training that will enable long-term careers in hospitality. To date, more than 400 hotels in 65 countries have taken part in the initiative, supporting RiseHY participants throughout this journey.

With more than 23% of the world’s young people unemployed, according to the International Labour Organization, investing in underserved communities continues to increase in importance.

The top-hiring countries in EAME for employing RiseHY participants so far are Jordan, Turkey, the UAE and the UK, and the most frequent roles upon hire were in the food and beverage and housekeeping departments. More than 170 of the participants in EAME already benefitted from lateral moves, promotions and transfers, and its retention rates have exceeded 42%.

“The RiseHY program helps thousands of young people around the world find fulfilling careers in hospitality,” said Malaika Myers, Chief Human Resources Officer at Hyatt Hotels Corporation. “Focusing on Opportunity Youth brings Hyatt’s purpose of care to life by creating economic opportunities for individuals in under-resourced communities, while also uncovering an expanded talent pool to solve the hospitality industry’s staffing shortage and turnover challenges.”

“The RiseHY program allows Hyatt to introduce thousands of young people around the world to fulfilling careers in hospitality that feed their ambition,” said Peggy Focheux Duval, RiseHY Program Manager, Hyatt. “Through RiseHY, Hyatt offers youth the opportunity to learn necessary skills so they can advance professionally in the hospitality industry.”

Despite navigating unprecedented industry-wide job market challenges resulting from the global pandemic, Hyatt remains focused on its commitment to supporting Opportunity Youth around the globe.

Find out more about the program and how to get involved on the RiseHY website.

The term “Hyatt” is used in this release for convenience to refer to Hyatt Hotels Corporation and/or one or more of its affiliates.

About Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company guided by its purpose – to care for people so they can be their best. As of December 31, 2023, the Company's portfolio included more than 1,300 hotels and all-inclusive properties in 77 countries across six continents. The Company's offering includes brands in the Timeless Collection, including Park Hyatt®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt®, Hyatt Vacation Club®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Studios, and UrCove; the Boundless Collection, including Miraval®, Alila®, Andaz®, Thompson Hotels®, Dream® Hotels, Hyatt Centric®, and Caption by Hyatt®; the Independent Collection, including The Unbound Collection by Hyatt®, Destination by Hyatt®, and JdV by Hyatt®; and the Inclusive Collection, including Impression by Secrets, Hyatt Ziva®, Hyatt Zilara®, Zoëtry® Wellness & Spa Resorts, Secrets® Resorts & Spas, Breathless Resorts & Spas®, Dreams® Resorts & Spas, Hyatt Vivid Hotels & Resorts, Alua Hotels & Resorts®, and Sunscape® Resorts & Spas. Subsidiaries of the Company operate the World of Hyatt® loyalty program, ALG Vacations®, Mr & Mrs Smith™, Unlimited Vacation Club®, Amstar DMC destination management services, and Trisept Solutions® technology services. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS: 
Chloe Duncan
Hyatt – Middle East and Africa
Chloe.duncan@hyatt.com

Jumana Bataineh
Q Communications – Dubai, United Arab Emirates 
jumana.b@qcomms.ae