Hilton Closes Out 2024 with Record Levels of Growth, Opening More Rooms than Any Year in its History
Company signs a record 154,000 rooms in 2024, positioning Hilton for continued strong growth with momentum across all categories
In a year in which Hilton announced new strategic partnerships and acquisitions and accelerated hotel development worldwide, the company set historic records for growth. Hilton added 973 hotels and nearly 100,000 rooms in 2024, the single biggest increase in rooms in Hilton's more than 100-year history, achieving net unit growth of 7.3%.
Hilton also strengthened its development pipeline, signing more than 1,430 hotels representing 154,000 rooms in 2024. The company's pipeline now stands at roughly 3,600 hotels totaling more than 498,500 rooms, a year-over-year increase of 8% in pipeline rooms.
In 2024, construction started on 88,500 rooms, excluding acquisitions and partnerships, the highest level of construction starts in Hilton's history. Hilton continues to have 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.
"We're incredibly proud of our growth last year, driven by the performance of our brands and our team's commitment to delivering the very best stays for our guests and impressive returns for owners," said Chris Nassetta, president and CEO, Hilton. "Given the strength of our commercial engines, family of brands, and global network, we continue to feel good about our growth this year. Our development pipeline and construction starts are strengthening around the world, and demand for travel remains strong, leading to increased confidence in our expectations for net unit growth of 6-7% in 2025."
Hilton's growth has been bolstered by a number of global milestones, meeting guest demand in new locations and market segments for Hilton.
- Lifestyle brands Graduate by Hilton and NoMad joined Hilton's portfolio in spring 2024, expanding Hilton's new development opportunities in university communities and growing luxury markets around the world.
- The launch of an exclusive partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) added hundreds of independently minded luxury hotels to Hilton's luxury portfolio, which continues to be anchored by the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts and Signia by Hilton brands. With more than 500 hotels worldwide, Hilton's luxury portfolio is now one of the largest in the industry with additional marquee openings slated for this year to include Waldorf Astoria New York, Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique, Waldorf Astoria Shanghai Qiantan, Waldorf Astoria Osaka, Waldorf Astoria Morocco Rabat Sale, Conrad Hamburg, Conrad Athens and Signia by Hilton Amman.
- Spark by Hilton, which continues to define the premium economy segment, opened its first hotel in September 2023 and has now surpassed 100 trading hotels, including locations in the UK, Canada and Austria, with plans to further expand the brand in new markets around the world.
- Long-stay brand LivSmart Studios by Hilton, launched in 2023, expects to open its first hotel this summer in Kokomo, Indiana, with hundreds more in various stages of negotiation.
"Our diversified and strategic approach to development continues to generate robust growth, bringing us closer to our goal of serving any guest, for any stay occasion, anywhere in the world," said Kevin Jacobs, CFO and president, global development, Hilton. "Signings and construction starts increased meaningfully in 2024, giving us great momentum heading into the new year. With approximately half a million rooms in our development pipeline, coupled with favorable supply and demand fundamentals more broadly and a growing global middle class, we're confident in our ability to deliver sustained growth in 2025 and beyond."
Hilton has more than 8,400 properties trading worldwide. The company debuted its brands in several new markets in 2024, including Paraguay, Nepal and Bonaire, bringing the total number of countries and territories where Hilton operates to 140. Hilton also welcomed more than 224 million guests to its properties last year, more than any year in its history.
More information on the latest exciting openings slated across Hilton's global network in 2025 is available here.
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 our expectations regarding the performance of our 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 our control, such as inflation, changes in interest rates, challenges due to labor shortages or disputes and supply chain disruptions; the loss of key senior management personnel; competition for hotel guests and management and franchise contracts; risks related to doing business with third-party hotel owners; performance of our information technology systems; growth of reservation channels outside of our 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 our indebtedness. Additional factors that could cause our 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 our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, 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 our filings with the SEC. We undertake 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.
About Hilton
Hilton (NYSE:HLT) is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 24 world-class brands comprising more than 8,400 properties and over 1.25 million rooms, in 140 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. 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 200 million Hilton Honors 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, X, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
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Jake Woodley
Hilton
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