Hilton sees unit growth amid deceleration

The overall economy might be in a swing of “modest deceleration,” but Hilton President and CEO Chris Nassetta is still optimistic about his company’s future after a record-setting 2018, Hotel News Now’s Stephanie Ricca writes.

On Hilton’s fourth-quarter and full-year call to discuss earnings with analysts, Nassetta focused on company openings and its pipeline, which he said was the “largest and most diverse” in Hilton’s history.

“We opened more than one hotel per day in 2018,” he said. “In 2018, we had the best year of openings in our history. Overall, the company added 57,000 net additional rooms to its global system in 2018, including 22,500 in the fourth quarter, which represented 10% year-over-year growth.”