Business transient travel continued to improve at Hilton, with revenue per available room for that segment up 4% from 2019, according to Christopher Nassetta, CEO, speaking on a first quarter earnings call. He said that much of the improvement was from small and medium-sized businesses, which constitute about 85% of the segment mix.
Recovery in group remains robust, with revenue per available room (RevPAR) finishing roughly in line with 2019, according to Nassetta, with steady improvement each month in the quarter and March exceeding 2019 by 5%. Demand for future bookings also remained strong, with full-year group bookings up 28% year over year and 3% versus 2019. Additionally, new group leads in the quarter were 13% higher than in 2019, an increase of 6 points compared with the prior quarter.
Looking at the full year, based on the better-than-expected first quarter results, the accelerated demand across Asia and continued positive momentum in group, said Nassetta, the company now expects full year systemwide top line growth between 8% and 11% versus 2022, assuming some slowdown in the back half of the year due to macroeconomic uncertainty, particularly in the US.
Nassetta also said the company is also getting ready to launch another brand in the extended-stay space at the “very low end of midscale,” elow the Home2 Suites brand. He said Hilton has been working with its ownership community and customers on what will be a new-build product.
In the first quarter, systemwide RevPAR grew 30% year over year and 8% compared with 2019. Rate continued to drive growth, up 11% compared with 2019, and systemwide occupancy reached 68%, up from the prior quarter and just 2 points shy of peak levels. Globally, all segments outperformed expectations, and the lifting of COVID restrictions in China drove significant recovery in demand across Asia-Pacific throughout the quarter. As a result, RevPAR in the month of March exceeded 2019 levels across all regions and segments for the first time since the pandemic began.
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