Hyatt’s Business Travel Comeback Overshadowed by Record Leisure Demand
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Change Take
Hyatt, best known for appealing to business travelers, is relying lately on vacationers who accounted for half its business in the most recent quarter. Yet July data points to group business and banqueting tracking toward a comeback that’s faster than some expected.
Sean O’Neill
Hyatt Hotels Corp notched a few company records when it reported quarterly earnings on Tuesday, and the company’s performance may not have peaked yet, executives said.
The Chicago, Illinois-based company had a record level of leisure demand in the second quarter, with 19 percent more revenue from vacationers compared to pre-pandemic levels. Leisure travelers drove 54 percent of Hyatt’s room revenue.
Record average room rates of $198-a-night system-wide led the company to notch a record in management and franchisee fees of more than $200 million — 27 percent higher than the next-highest quarter.
The company produced $255 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization — a company record for this measure of profit. It generated revenue of $640 million.
The hotel group reported that its revenue per available room surpassed pre-pandemic levels in June for U.S. hotels — and surpassed 2019 levels in July system-wide, excluding Greater China.
The company remains on an upward trajectory even if many economies sink into a recession this year, executives argued.
“If you look at the total share of wallet of the consumer, it’s not even close to where it was pre-pandemic for travel,” said president and CEO Mark Hoplamazian during a call with investors.
Banqueting Is Back
Business travel is also rebounding, albeit at a lagging pace. The company’s top 10 largest business customers
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