Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott Show True Colors Amid Travel Boom

Hyatt, Hilton, and Marriott were struggling to keep their doors open during the pandemic, but now that the revenge travel boom is in full effect, they are showing their true colors.

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Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott Warn High Prices Here to Stay

Executives from three major chains warned that the high prices travelers are seeing this summer are here to stay, at least for a while. While revenge travel following the pandemic was something predicted (right here on this blog, in fact), exceeding 2019 levels, widely considered heretofore to be “Peak Travel”, remains impressive. At the risk of being self-righteous, I made this claim just two days shy of two years ago to the day: “As such, my prediction is that Peak Travel may not occur again until at least early 2022.” In fairness, I had assumed it was aircraft retirement and replacement that would be the sticking point – I was wrong, it’s not the retirement of aircraft but the pilots that fly them that’s the problem.

Add in the highest inflation in 40 years (half of the US population hasn’t seen these levels in their entire lifetime) and the current demand is completely shocking.

“Marriott CEO Tony Capuano said that over Memorial Day weekend the company’s revenue per available room, which measures hotel performance, was up about 25% in 2022 compared to 2019.” – CNBC.

And it’s not just cheaper, broader select-service hotels with lower price points that are pushing demand. In fact, the luxury segments saw even higher growth.

“In Marriott’s luxury portfolio, which includes hotels like JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, and St. Regis, those hotels saw nearly a 30% increase in rates in the first quarter of 2022 compared to 2019.” – CNBC

Hyatt Hotels CEO, Mark Hoplamazian, sees great performance across the board with no slow down in sight. IHG CEO, Keith Barr, echoed those sentiments.

“Pretty much across the board, all the business segments and leisure are all firing on all cylinders,” Hoplamazian said.

“Keith Barr, the CEO of IHG Hotels & Resorts which owns brands like the InterContinental and Holiday Inn, said that he expects demand to continue to grow for the rest of the year as travel is more normalized post-pandemic.” – CNBC

Barr added that despite these price increases, they haven’t kept up with inflation but 25% room rates and high occupancy with reduced service suggest that’s probably not true.

Hilton is excited about revenue this summer as well.

“…Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta predicting that the hotel chain will “have the biggest summer we’ve ever seen in…