Hyatt

Founded in 1957, during the decade's second recession
Revenue n/a
Chicago

The Pritzker family opened its first luxury hotel at Los Angeles Airport, ushering in the concept of high-end lodging despite the recession. There are now more than 700 Hyatt hotels and resorts in 40 countries.

Kedrosky's reasons for the company's success:
"Hyatt began at the beginning of a time when we were seeing broad business travel. The 1950s were a relatively quiet period for founding new companies. What made Hyatt a success is that they were the only company to address this huge trend in mass standardized travel, and their approach to making it more deluxe than anyone in the hospitality industry."