A softer performance at US hotels impacted second quarter 2025 results at Hilton Hotels, with revpar in the country down 1.5% as travel volumes softened.
A contrasting performance came from hotels in other regions. Middle Eastern and Africa hotels performed strongly, with revpar up 10.3% on stronger occupancy, while hotels in the Americas outside the US saw stronger room rates, up 4.5%.
Confident comments from the CEO
Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta said the weakness in the US was down to several factors, including “holiday and calendar shifts, reduced government spending, softer international inbound business and broader economic uncertainty”. He expressed confidence in the medium term, with Hilton guiding its full year performance around an expected 0-2% revpar improvement for the full year.
Despite the softer performance in the USA, the company delivered net income of USD442 million for the quarter, and diluted earnings per share of USD1.84. The company continued to buy back its shares, returning USD791 million to shareholders as it bought back 3.2 million shares, and paid regular dividends to remaining stockholders.
Nassetta also pointed to the group’s continued strong growth, as the way Hilton will continue to drive up revenue and profits. During the second quarter of 2025, the group added 26,100 rooms to its global portfolio, and removed 3,500, resulting in a net unit growth of 7.5%. The company also signed 36,200 more rooms into its pipeline, taking that total to a new record of 510,600 rooms, up 4% year on year.
“We continued to expand our luxury and lifestyle brands bringing the portfolio to more than 1,000 hotels across the world,” reported Nassetta. “Notable openings included the Sax Paris, LXR Hotels & Resorts, which is the brand’s first hotel in the heart of Paris, The Marcus Portrush, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, and the Hotel Astoria Vienna, Curio Collection by Hilton, representing these lifestyle brands’ debuts in Northern Ireland and Vienna, Austria, respectively.”
The company also signed two new destinations for its NoMad brand, NoMad Detroit and NoMad Singapore, while also opening its landmark Waldorf Astoria in New York. And in the extended stay segment, Hilton opened the first of its new LivSmart branded aparthotels, in Tullahoma, Tennessee.
Luxury brands lead with stronger performance
Across the group’s brand portfolio, the second quarter of 2025 was one that saw the luxury and upper upscale brands perform most strongly. LXR, Waldorf Astoria and Conrad performed positively with revpar up year on year. The collection brands Curio and Tapestry also delivered year on year gains. In contrast, the group’s lower tier brands, including DoubleTree, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, Tru, Homewood Suites and Home2 Suites all reported negative revpar performance.
The group’s third quarter outlook is an expectation that earnings per share will be modestly up from the second quarter figure, with net income in the range USD453-467 million. While the US market may have been softer in the short term, Hilton points to strong fundamentals. Despite short term concerns and economic issues around president Trump’s tariff changes, the hotel sector continues to have constrained new supply, limiting the impact of new competition in the market in the medium term.
