Hyatt Hotels Corp. leaned on luxury to generate first-quarter RevPAR growth of 5.4% compared to the same time a year ago.
“RevPAR growth in the U.S. was ahead of expectations and we saw strong growth across most international markets,” said Hyatt President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian. Leisure demand from Hyatt’s premium customers was exceptionally strong in the quarter, Hoplamazian added, increasing approximately 7% compared to last year. “If there’s any sign of weakness in terms of the high-end customer, we have not seen it,” said Hoplamazian.
Net rooms growth for the trailing 12 months was 5% and its pipeline of executed management or franchise contracts was approximately 151,000 rooms, an increase of 9.4%, compared to the first quarter of 2025.
Hyatt opened 3,996 rooms in Q1, with notable openings including Andaz Lisbon, Andaz Shanghai ITC and The Livingston in Brooklyn, part of its JDV collection, the first Hyatt-branded hotel in the New York borough. Hoplamazian underscored Hyatt’s Essential brands, inclusive of Caption by Hyatt, Unscripted by Hyatt and Hyatt Place, to name three of the seven. Those brands entered seven new markets during the quarter. “These brands are an important driver of our growth strategy, allowing us to expand our brand footprint in markets where we have significant white space, while also offering attractive economic returns to owners,” Hoplamazian said.
For the full year, Hyatt guided RevPAR growth of between 2% and 4%, compared to full-year 2025, with an expected 2% to 3% growth in the U.S. in the second quarter. Hyatt expects net-rooms growth of between 6% and 7% for the full year.
“Our strong first quarter results reflect the continued strength of our core fee business and the resilience of our differentiated portfolio of high-quality brands. As we look to the balance of the year and beyond, we are focused on further elevating Hyatt by strengthening the performance of our brands, our talent, and our technology to enhance how we operate and build on our competitive advantages. We believe this foundation, combined with our high-end customer base, robust pipeline with significant opportunities for expansion, and rapidly growing loyalty program, position us to drive sustained growth and create long-term value for shareholders,” Hoplamazian offered in a prepared statement.
World of Hyatt, the company’s loyalty program, ended the first quarter with approximately 66 million members, an increase of 18% compared to the first quarter of last year. Members, Hoplamazian said, accounted for nearly half of total occupied rooms globally. “When our members stay with us, they spend nearly twice as much compared to a non member, highlighting the engagement from our premium customer base,” Hoplamazian said.
Hyatt continues to follow its asset-light strategy by divesting assets in order to focus on a fee-based business. Hoplamazian said the company is continuing to make progress on the sale of Hyatt Grand Central New York, “and could be in a position to close that transaction in the fourth quarter of 2026,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hyatt elected to terminate the purchase-and-sale agreement for the sale Andaz London Liverpool Street; separately, it is no longer under contract for two other properties that were previously signed. “Our decisions not to move forward were specific to the individual transactions and reflect our continued discipline around pricing and terms,” Hoplamazian said. As it pertains to Andaz London, Liverpool Street, Hoplamazian said that complications in the sale are partly due to its location above rail lines that are part Network Rail, UK’s national rail system, and approvals that are necessary from it that were not issued. “We don’t believe the the opportunity is dead,” Hoplamazian said, but it doesn’t have the authorities needed yet to move forward. “Our broader plans for additional asset sales and our confidence in the transactions market remain unchanged,” he added.
Hyatt said there will be a higher impact to its business in the Middle East in the second quarter, but expects improvement in the second half of the year. The one region that has been exceptionally strong is China, said Hyatt CFO Joan Bottarini, with RevPAR in Q1 exceeding double digits year-over-year. “China looks like a region that we can continue to rely on for growth for the remainder of the year,” she said.
In Europe, Hoplamazian pointed to a bifurcation based, he said, on economic fragility around the escalation of energy prices. “This is an example where there’s going to be a difference between how economy and midscale performs versus full-service and luxury,” he said.
Hoplamazian said he was bullish over World Cup pace despite reports of softness in bookings. “The pace that we’re seeing into the cities that are hosting World Cup are very strong,” he said, especially for New York, which will host the finals in July. He added that Hyatt is seeing significant group business also pacing well ahead in host cities.