In December 2004 Hyatt Hotels Corporation acquired AmeriSuites, an upscale chain of all suite business class hotels from affiliates of the Blackstone Group, a New York-based private equity investment firm. Blackstone had inherited AmeriSuites from its 2004 acquisition of Prime Hospitality. The AmeriSuites chain was rebranded and called Hyatt Place, a competitor to the limited service products Marriott International's Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton Worldwide's Hilton Garden Inn.