Leading hospitality player Hilton Hotels has reported a smart rise in its net profits for the third quarter of 2023, beating market estimates, thanks to rising occupancy and high room prices. The company’s development pipeline for addition of new properties also saw a significant jump in the quarter ending September 30, 2023.

United States-based hospitality major Hilton Holdings Worldwide, which owns and operates the Hilton Hotel group has beaten analyst expectations and its own predictions surrounding its performance in the third quarter of the current year.

According to a press statement issued by Hilton Hotels, its net income and Adjusted Eearnings Before Income Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation  (EBITDA) stood at USD 379 million and USD 834 million, respectively, for the three months ended September 30, 2023. It says that this compared very favourably to the performance in the third quarter of the year 2022, when the corresponding figures stood at USD 346 million and USD 732 million, respectively, for the three months ended September 30, 2022.

Net income and Adjusted EBITDA were USD 1,001 million and USD 2,286 million, respectively, for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, compared to USD 924 million and USD 1,859 million, respectively, for the nine months ended September 30, 2022.

The company says that in a return to pre-pandemic totals, the hospitality giant reported that system-wide comparable RevPAR increased 11.4 pc for the third quarter compared to 2019. “We continued to see strong results during the third quarter, exceeding our expectations for system-wide RevPAR growth, with growth across all customer segments. We also continue to leverage our industry-leading portfolio of brands to drive further growth of our global network. We believe we have hit an inflection point and expect a meaningful uptick in openings in the fourth quarter with continued positive momentum into next year. With a record number of approvals year-to-date driving the largest pipeline in our history, we are confident in our ability to accelerate net unit growth to 5.5 pc to 6.0 pc next year,’’ says Christopher J Nassetta, President & Chief Executive Officer of Hilton.

The company also approved 35,500 new rooms for development during the third quarter, bringing Hilton’s development pipeline to a record 457,300 rooms, representing a growth of 10 pc from September 2022. Hilton also added 15,700 rooms to its system in the third quarter.

As for the full-year outlook, system-wide RevPAR is expected to increase between 12-12.5 pc compared to 2022, while 2023 net income is projected to be between USD 1.375-USD 1.389 billion.

Full-year adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between USD 3.025-USD 3.045 billion, and 2023 capital return is projected to be between USD 2.4-USD 2.6 billion, says the statement.