HYATT HOTELS CORP. reported strong early 2024 performance, with RevPAR and revenue growth, fueled by pipeline expansion driving its core hotel business and global franchise network. Systemwide RevPAR surged by 5.5 percent compared to 2023, while all-inclusive resorts net package RevPAR soared by 11 percent.
Meanwhile, U.S. RevPAR increased by approximately 2 percent, excluding the Easter impact, indicating normalized growth.
Net rooms grew by about 5.5 percent, with net income at $522 million and adjusted net income at $75 million, Hyatt said in a statement. Adjusted EBITDA stood at $252 million, dropping by 9 percent compared to Q1 2023, mainly due to the Super Bowl in Phoenix, increased real estate taxes, higher wages, and transaction costs from ongoing asset sales.
"The year is off to a great start with gross fee revenue reaching a record of $262 million in the quarter,” said Mark Hoplamazian, Hyatt’s president and CEO. “Our pipeline also reached a new record, expanding 10 percent year-over-year to 129,000 rooms, and we realized net rooms growth of 5.5. World of Hyatt membership has grown by 22 percent, reaching a new record of 46 million members. Significant progress on asset dispositions is further expanding our asset-light earnings mix, reflecting our execution to permanently reduce owned real estate."
Hyatt reported that its pipeline included approximately 670 hotels with 129,000 rooms in the first quarter.
Additional first quarter highlights:
- Repurchased around 2.5 million shares of Class A and Class B common stock for a total purchase price of $388 million.
- Full-year comparable system-wide hotels RevPAR is forecasted to increase by 3 percent to 5 percent on a constant currency basis compared to 2023.
- Full-year net income is projected to range between $1,135 million and $1,195 million.
- Full-year adjusted EBITDA is estimated between $1,150 million and $1,190 million, aligning with the previously provided 2024 Outlook, adjusting for a $30 million reduction in Adjusted EBITDA due to transactions.
- Full-year capital returns to shareholders are projected to range between $800 million and $850 million.
Future perfect
Hyatt also sold 80 percent of the entity owning the Unlimited Vacation Club business and closed the sale of Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort Spa and Casino, the statement added. As of May 9, 2024, the company earned $1.5 billion in gross proceeds from real estate dispositions, aiming for $2 billion by year-end 2024, net of acquisitions, as part of its expanded asset disposition commitment announced in August 2021.
Adjusted EBITDA for full-year 2024 remains consistent with the previous outlook, adjusted for a $30 million reduction due to transactions, including the sales of Park Hyatt Zurich, Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk, Hyatt Regency Green Bay, and the UVC Transaction, the statement said.
Free cash flow also aligns with the prior outlook, considering the $30 million reduction to adjusted EBITDA and $25 million cash tax payments associated with the asset sales, Hyatt added.
In February, Hyatt posted $26 million in fourth-quarter 2023 net income and $220 million for the year, driven by group demand recovery and rate growth across both customer segments.
