Group business led the charge in Hilton's strong Q3

Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta reported “positive growth everywhere” during the hotel company’s Q3 earnings call with analysts. He cited group business in particular as the standout segment.

Group revenue per available room (RevPAR) for the quarter rose 8% year over year, outperforming leisure and business travel, which each grew 5% in their own right.

“On the group side, RevPAR exceeded 2019 peak levels for the first full quarter since the pandemic and we continue to see positive group booking trends in the quarter for all future periods,” said Nassetta, adding that group business for 2024 is projected to grow 18%.

The spike in group bookings prompted Hilton to raise its outlook for the remainder of the year, with Nassetta telling analysts that a “better-than-expected” third-quarter performance is expected to drive systemwide RevPAR growth for the year to 12% to 12.5%.

Hilton’s systemwide RevPAR for the third quarter, meanwhile, was up 6.8% from 2022 and 11.4% from 2019.

In terms of regional performance, the U.S. posted a 3% RevPAR increase, while RevPAR in the Americas (outside of the U.S.) and Europe was up 11%. The Asia-Pacific region saw the most dramatic gains, with third-quarter RevPAR up 39% due to dramatically improved demand levels in China. 

For the third quarter, Hilton reported that systemwide occupancy rose 2.2 percentage points, to 75.3%, while average daily rate (ADR) for the quarter increased 3.6%, to $161.20.

Hilton posted Q3 net income of $379 million, up from $346 million a year earlier. The company’s third-quarter revenue was up 12.8%, totaling $2.67 billion.

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