Hilton executives noted that the second quarter of the year was a weak one. Hilton still has confidence in its plans for expansion.
Hilton’s revenue (RevPAR), which is the measure of revenue per room available, declined by 0.5% in the first quarter. This decline was due to lower occupancy. Hilton has maintained its RevPAR projection of 0%-2% for the entire year.
Hilton President and CEO Chris Nassetta described a period of stagnation, but then quickly shifted to discuss encouraging signs for the future. “We said relatively level, which means there may be a slight uptick or a slight downtick. He said that it was down. He said that there were also several “green sprouts” which he thought would lead to a stronger demand within the next “2 or 3 years.”
Hotel bookings were lower than expected in the third quarter due to policy uncertainty in Washington, particularly in relation to taxes, trade deals and regulations. This was especially true for leisure travelers and corporate clients.
We believe the economy will grow in the next few years.
