BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — One of the largest hotels in Downtown Buffalo, which has sat vacant for months, is expected to reopen next year.
Texas-based Aimbridge Hospitality will assume management of the Hyatt Regency this week.
"Aimbridge Hospitality has entered into a franchise agreement to take over the management of Hyatt Regency Buffalo," Hyatt Regency Buffalo General Manager John O'Connell said in a statement. "Hyatt will continue its management of Hyatt Regency Buffalo through September 22, 2020. We are still working to understand a timeline for resuming hotel operations and whether the hotel will remain Hyatt branded. Our most important priority is to support our colleagues through the upcoming changes."
In an email to stakeholders, a Hyatt representative said the hotel will remain closed until March 2021.
The takeover marks a new chapter for the 396-room hotel and conference center, which shut down in April during the height of the pandemic in New York. In May, the Hyatt announced the Buffalo property was indefinitely closing and laying off employees, much to the dismay of the hotel's owner, Snyder Corporation.
In June, a judge temporarily blocked Hyatt Hotels Corp. from withdrawing its affiliation with the hotel, according to The Buffalo News.
The Hyatt, which sits between Main and Pearl streets in the heart of the central business district, first opened in 1984. It features a large glass atrium and offers direct access to the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center across the street.
