Hyatt's Q1 helped by sale of three hotels

The sale of three hotels helped push Hyatt Hotels Corporation to a strong first quarter. Net income was $411 million in the quarter compared to $55 million at the same time last year—a 667-percent leap.

The impressive boost in income came from the sale of the 301-room Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, the 668-room Grand Hyatt San Francisco and the 454-room Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and spa for roughly $992 million to Host Hotels & Resorts. Hyatt held on to the properties' management agreements.

Hyatt’s earnings report suggests the company has plans to sell a total of $1.5 billion in real estate by 2020 as part of an ongoing capital strategy.

"We had a strong start to the year, highlighted by better-than-expected lodging fundamentals and a $1.0 billion sale of three hotel properties,” said Hyatt President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian. “The sale transaction clearly demonstrates the high quality of Hyatt’s asset base as well as our commitment to unlock shareholder value.”