Hotel Industry’s 4th-Quarter Earnings Highlight Continued Recovery

Some of the biggest companies in the hotel industry have reported increased profits during the final quarter of 2021, indicating a strong finish to the year could carry over into a successful 2022.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. reported its fourth-quarter results on Wednesday, which showed a quarterly profit of $148 million, which mas a massive increase from the loss of $225 million during the same quarter in 2020.

In total, Hilton officials revealed revenue of $1.84 billion, up from $890 million the previous year and topping the $1.8 billion estimate predicted by hotel industry experts.

During Wyndham Hotels’ fourth-quarter call, officials reported the company posted revenues of $392 million, surpassing the expert estimates by 4.21 percent and topping the $296 million in revenues during the same period in 2020.

The company has topped consensus revenue estimates just once over the last four quarters, indicating a strong increase in demand thanks in part to rising vaccination rates around the world and a busy winter holiday travel period.

Officials from Marriott International recently announced that revenue for the fourth quarter of 2021 topped estimates and reached $4.45 billion. The company beat analyst estimates of $3.99 billion for the three-month period ending December 31.

Marriott Chief Executive Officer Anthony Capuano said new bookings have rebounded to pre-Omicron levels, and the company remains optimistic about global travel demand recovery throughout 2022.

While other companies showed growth in the fourth quarter, Hyatt Hotels Corp. reported a loss of $29 million to end 2021. Adjusted net loss attributable to Hyatt was $306 million in the fourth quarter.

The hotel operator posted revenue of $1.08 billion in the period, which did not meet Wall Street forecasts of around $1.15 billion. For the year, the company reported that its loss narrowed to $222 million, while revenue topped $3.03 billion.

In January, a report from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) predicts that 2022 will see the hotel industry continue on a path toward recovery from COVID-19’s disastrous impact, but that the road ahead is sure to be bumpy and somewhat unstable.