Dive Brief:
- Hyatt Hotels’ systemwide RevPAR increased 4% in the fourth quarter of 2025, “exceeding expectations” as upper-tier chain scales produced the highest growth in the U.S., CFO Joan Bottarini said during a Thursday earnings call.
- A continued prioritization of leisure travel drove the solid Q4 results, CEO Mark Hoplamazian said on the call. Leisure transient was the strongest customer segment for Hyatt during the quarter, with RevPAR for the segment increasing approximately 6% year over year and 9% year over year across the company’s luxury brands, Hoplamazian said.
- Also during the quarter, Hyatt completed the $2 billion sale of the Playa Hotels & Resorts real estate portfolio, furthering its asset-light strategy. The transaction “strengthens our position as the global leader in luxury all-inclusive offerings,” Hoplamazian said.
Dive Insight:
Hyatt is now “fully transformed into an asset-light business, and we expect asset-light earnings of 90% in 2026,” Hoplamazian said on the call. In December, Hyatt sold its remaining 14 Playa Hotels properties to Tortuga Resorts and subsequently entered into 50-year management agreements with Tortuga for 13 of the 14 properties.
Additionally, Hyatt currently has three hotels under purchase and sale agreements, Hoplamazian shared on the call. “We expect to close these transactions in the second quarter of 2026 subject to certain closing conditions,” he said, adding that the company is “also evaluating opportunities to sell additional assets beyond those.”
Hoplamazian anticipates 2026 will also be a strong year for organic growth, as momentum builds behind the company’s new brands. Hyatt projects net rooms growth in the range of between 6% and 7% for full-year 2026, according to an earnings report published Thursday.
Hyatt’s three new brands — Unscripted by Hyatt, Hyatt Studios and Hyatt Select — accounted for nearly two thirds of the signings in the U.S. in 2025, “demonstrating the compelling value proposition for owners and developers and the clear opportunity for Hyatt to expand into new markets,” Hoplamazian said.
Hyatt ended 2025 with a record development pipeline of executed management and franchise contracts totalling approximately 148,000 rooms. In the U.S., 2025 was Hyatt’s strongest year of signings in the past five years, with half of those signings in markets where Hyatt does not currently have a brand presence, Hoplamazian said.
Meanwhile, Hyatt is among competitors leaning into agentic development efforts, with advancements on this front expected to continue into 2026, Hoplamazian shared.
Hyatt anticipates systemwide RevPAR growth between 1% and 3% in 2026, the company reported.
