Hilton Opens More Rooms in Fourth Quarter Than Any Quarter in Its History, Achieves Record Year of Signings
Company positioned for accelerated growth in 2024, supported by largest-ever development pipeline and launch of two new brands
Hilton (NYSE:HLT) ended 2023 with the strongest development quarter in its history, opening more new rooms than during any other quarter. The hospitality leader opened 132 hotels and approximately 24,000 rooms between October and December 2023, contributing to full-year openings of 395 hotels and approximately 63,000 rooms to achieve net unit growth of 4.9%.
Hilton also continued to strengthen its development pipeline with record 2023 signings of nearly 1,000 hotels representing 130,000 rooms, up 45% from the prior year and meaningfully ahead of pre-pandemic levels. The company's pipeline is now the largest in its history with nearly 3,300 hotels, totaling more than 462,000 rooms.
Hilton delivered another year of strong construction starts, up 15% over 2022 and approaching pre-pandemic levels. Hilton now has more new rooms under construction than any other hotel company with approximately one in every five hotel rooms under construction globally slated to join the company's portfolio.
"Our team is delivering robust results, supported by the power of our brands, our award-winning culture and strong commercial engines," said Chris Nassetta, president and CEO, Hilton. "Premium products and exceptional levels of service are driving strong customer demand for our hotels around the world, while better returns are supporting strong owner interest. We continue to feel very good about our prior net unit growth guidance of 5.5% to 6.0% in 2024, with strong indications towards the higher end of the range based on the positive momentum we are seeing in signings and construction starts."
The company's growth opportunities are further boosted by the recent addition of two new brands to its portfolio – Spark by Hilton and LivSmart Studios by Hilton -- which is driving strong activity with owners looking to tap into the growing demand for hotels in the premium economy and long-stay segments.
"Hilton's development results continue to be an indicator of how well-positioned we are for long-term growth," said Kevin Jacobs, CFO and president, global development, Hilton. "Hotel owners choose to work with us because of the strength of our growing portfolio of brands and our premium commercial performance. This owner preference drives our capital light growth and fuels our network effect, which helps us continue to deliver value for all our stakeholders."
Hilton ended 2023 with more than 7,500 properties in 126 countries and territories, expanding options for guests nearly anywhere they want to travel. On average, more than one new hotel per day was added to Hilton's global portfolio.
The company also welcomed more guests in 2023 than ever before with more than 213 million travelers staying at Hilton properties around the world. Hilton Honors, the company's award-winning loyalty program, ended the year with record membership of more than 180 million members.
About Hilton
Hilton is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 22 world-class brands comprising more than 7,500 properties and nearly 1.2 million rooms, in 126 countries and territories. Dedicated to fulfilling its founding vision to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality, Hilton has welcomed over 3 billion guests in its more than 100-year history, was named the No. 1 World's Best Workplace by Great Place to Work and Fortune and has been recognized as a global leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for seven consecutive years. Hilton has introduced industry-leading technology enhancements to improve the guest experience, including Digital Key Share, automated complimentary room upgrades and the ability to book confirmed connecting rooms. Through the award-winning guest loyalty program Hilton Honors, the more than 180 million members who book directly with Hilton can earn Points for hotel stays and experiences money can't buy. With the free Hilton Honors app, guests can book their stay, select their room, check in, unlock their door with a Digital Key and check out, all from their smartphone. Visit stories.hilton.com for more information, and connect with Hilton on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to the expectations regarding the performance of Hilton's business, future financial results, liquidity and capital resources and other non-historical statements. In some cases, you can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "outlook," "believes," "expects," "forecasts," "potential," "continues," "may," "will," "should," "could," "seeks," "projects," "predicts," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates" or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties including, among others, risks inherent to the hospitality industry; macroeconomic factors beyond Hilton's control, such as inflation, changes in interest rates, challenges due to labor shortages or disputes and supply chain disruptions and recent events affecting the financial services industry; risks related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; competition for hotel guests and management and franchise contracts; risks related to doing business with third-party hotel owners; performance of Hilton's information technology systems; growth of reservation channels outside of Hilton's system; risks of doing business outside of the U.S.; risks associated with conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and other geopolitical events; and Hilton's indebtedness. Additional factors that could cause Hilton's results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found under the section entitled "Part I—Item 1A. Risk Factors" of Hilton's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, which is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and is accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this press release and in Hilton's filings with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.
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