Hyatt bans biz media from annual meeting

Julie Wernau of the Chicago Tribune reports that Hyatt Hotels’ annual meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, will not be open for the business media to attend.

Wernau writes, “Keith Mabee, vice chairman of Dix & Eaton, a public relations and investor relations firm, said as a new public company, Hyatt is not only undergoing regulatory changes but also a cultural transition.

“‘They’re newly public and fiercely private, but those two issues clash here, it seems,’ he said.

“Hyatt’s corporate governance guidelines state that the company ‘recognizes that the long-term interests of stockholders are advanced by taking into consideration, as appropriate, the concerns of other stakeholders.’ Mabee said the media ban does not appear to be in line with Hyatt’s own guidelines and is not considered ‘best practices’ for a public company.

“‘People have to get used to the fact that, you’re public. It’s like political office,’ he said.

“Kern said Hyatt has not ruled out the possibility that future meetings might be open to the media and said the company would answer questions from the media regarding topics discussed at the annual meeting.”

Read more here.