Chris Nassetta travel tips

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

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.

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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 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.

Skift’s Senior Research Analyst Pranavi Agarwal and Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill went live this week on LinkedIn to discuss Skift Research’s latest report that looks at hotel performance and unit growth by chain scale in times of crisis and recession in the U.S.

Marking the debut of Hilton’s luxury brand Waldorf Astoria in India, Chris Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton, announced on Wednesday that Jaipur would be the first destination for the brand.

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

Hilton Worldwide executives teased on Wednesday that they expect to announce a new apartment hotel brand within the next couple of months. The move will come as the operator continues to expand its portfolio beyond premium and luxury hotel brands, such as Waldorf Astoria and Conrad.

Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt have previewed new extended-stay hotel brands in the past month. The U.S-based hotel groups are wagering that a few factors will power extended-stay hotels for years to come, including U.S. federal infrastructure investment, the resilience of blended travel, and a housing crisis.

Rob Goldstein, CEO and chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp., was last year’s best-compensated public hotel company CEO, collecting $40 million. The second-most was Patrick Pacious, president and CEO of Choice Hotels International, who earned $27 million in total compensation.