Hotel Stocks Slide After Hilton Warns of Leisure Travel Slowdown

Investopedia
24 Oct 2024

Key Takeaways

  • Shares of hotel operators fell Wednesday after Hilton Worldwide Holdings lowered its full-year profit outlook and warned leisure travel could decline next year.
  • Hilton's third-quarter revenue per available room—a key hotel metric—and earnings fell short of its projections and Wall Street estimates.
  • Executives attributed the disappointing results to a combination of softer demand, weather, unfavorable calendar shifts, and labor disputes.

Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings (HLT) and other hotel companies fell Wednesday after the company lowered its full-year earnings forecast and warned of softening leisure travel demand.

The hotel giant said it now expects 2024 net income between $1.41 billion and $1.43 billion, down from $1.53 billion to $1.56 billion. Hilton also reduced its earnings per share forecast and dropped the top end of its estimated revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth. 

Shares of Hilton slid nearly 2% Wednesday. Competitors Marriott International (MAR) and Hyatt Hotels (H) fell 3% and 4%, respectively. InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) also lost ground.

Leisure Travel Could Taper Next Year, Hilton CEO Says

Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta said he expects leisure spending to continue to normalize next year. "Demand is sort of flat to maybe even down a little bit," he said, according to a transcript of the company's earnings call provided by AlphaSense.

In the third quarter, Hilton posted net income of $344 million and RevPAR of $121.40, both of which missed the consensus estimate among analysts followed by Visible Alpha. Earnings per share beat expectations on an adjusted basis but missed otherwise. 

Nassetta attributed the disappointing results to a “slower ramp in September following Labor Day, weather impacts, unfavorable calendar shifts, and ongoing labor disputes in the U.S."

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