Chris Nassetta travel tips

Hilton is set to become a leading hotel player in college towns and cities across the U.S.

Hilton has built the largest pipeline of hotels in its history, and its top boss attributes that achievement to the power of the group’s brands.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, March 27. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Hilton will spend $210 million to acquire Graduate Hotels, a hotel brand that builds and runs 33 hotels near U.S. and U.K. universities, it said Thursday. The brand caters to college alumni, students, and communities with hip, nostalgic-themed design and campus-centric amenities.

Hilton has signed deals for three new hotels in Saudi Arabia: There are two Curio Collections, one focused on “eco” and the other on adventure. And an LXR resort will be an “agritourism” property as part of a tie-in with Saudi’s new farming tourism organization, Dan Company.

In 2023, Hilton opened 132 hotels with around 24,000 rooms between October and December 2023, the largest number of new rooms opened during any quarter in the hotel giant’s history, and it expects to continue that positive growth into 2024. 

Hilton is considering as many as 14 names for upcoming hotel brands, its recent trademark filings show.

The developer of Hilton's two newest brands is leaving the company in 2024.

The Biden administration took another step to combat so-called junk fees. The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday unveiled a proposed rule that would ban businesses – including hotel and lodging companies, short-term renal providers, and car rentals – from charging misleading fees. Businesses would also be required to show consumers the full price of their purchase up front, as well as whether fees are refundable.

A new trends report by Hilton predicts that the main driver for travelers of all generations to enjoy leisure trips in 2024 will be a desire to rest and relax. 

According to a recent global survey conducted by Hilton and Ipsos, travelers say they will reduce other areas of personal spending to prioritize leisure travel in 2024, with a majority across generations indicating their No. 1 reason to travel in 2024 will be to rest and recharge, with more emphasis on sleep than ever before. Those insights and more were unveiled today with the launch of Hilton’s third-annual trends report: “What Millennials, Gen Z, Gen X and Baby Boomers Tell Us About Travel in the Year Ahead.” In addition to defining the preferences and passions of the 2024 traveler, the report takes a deeper look at how each generation views travel – from the digital-native Gen Zer to the experienced Baby Boomer. 

Christopher Nassetta, president and CEO of the hotel giant Hilton Worldwide, last week highlighted his company’s move to display mandatory fees, such as resort fees, upfront when a consumer first searches on the group’s website and app.

Many people assume that hotel operators and short-term rental managers are fighting for the same customers. But they’re not, said executives at last week’s Skift Global Forum 2023. Hotels tend to attract guests with different needs than short-term rentals do, the industry leaders argued.

Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta opened the Skift Global Forum 2023 Tuesday in New York City. He addressed the group’s recent move to display mandatory fees; how he is working to address the greatest hurdles in travel as chair of U.S. Travel; and the introduction of its new brands Spark and “Project H3” as part of a new mission for Hilton to dominate middle-class travel.

Can hotels exert more influence in policy-making? Where will future development growth come from? Is generative AI relevant to the hotel sector? These and other subjects will be top of mind for us as we interview top bosses at Hilton, Hyatt, Accor, and other hotel leaders on-stage at the Skift Global Forum in New York on September 26-28.

Here are some excerpts from Daily Lodging Report from the past week. If you’re not a subscriber, you should be. Get news on hotel deals, development, stocks, and career moves. Sign up here, now.

Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta considers himself amazed at level of growth he’s seen in the Middle East’s hotel industry during his roughly 40-year career. Nassetta described the commitment officials in the region have made to travel and tourism as extraordinary during his appearance at the recent Skift Global Forum East in Dubai, adding he views Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as markets for significant growth.

Hilton Worldwide’s earnings report on Thursday was a good news-bad news story.

Hilton Worldwide is rolling out its first-ever hotel brand in the economy slice of the market, Spark by Hilton, taking on rivals such as Marriott International, Choice, and InterContinental Hotels Group in this competitive market segment.

Chris Nassetta, CEO of Hilton and incoming national chair of the U.S. Travel Association, called on Wednesday for U.S. government officials to cut visa wait times that he said were hurting the country’s domestic travel sector and U.S. federal revenues.

“An Outstanding year,” “thrilled to report,” “record-breaking…” every U.S. hotel group CEO has been jubilant in their earnings calls these past days.