Hyatt beats on EPS, modestly adjusts guidance

CHICAGO – Hyatt Hotels Corp. reported first quarter earning with comparable system-wide RevPAR increasing an impressive 5.7% year-over-year. At the same time, the company made a modest adjustment to its full-year guidance (-100 bps RevPAR growth and -160 bps Adjusted EBITDA), citing recent shifts in booking behavior.

Hyatt posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.46 for the first quarter, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.10.

Hyatt’s net rooms growth was 10.5% and the pipeline of executed management or franchise contracts was approximately 138,000 rooms. It opened 11,253 rooms during the quarter.

Full-year 2025 outlook has comparable system-wide RevPAR growth projected between 1% to 3% over 2024; net rooms growth is projected between 6% to 7%; net income is projected between $95 million and $150 million; adjusted EBITDA is projected between $1.080 billion and $1.135 billion, an increase of 6% to 12% after adjusting for assets sold in 2024; adjusted free cash flow is projected between $450 million and $500 million, excluding approximately $117 million of cash taxes on asset sales and approximately $43 million of costs associated with the Playa Hotels acquisition.

Hyatt stated it continues to advance discussions for the sale of Playa’s real estate and expects to be in a position to enter into an agreement to sell that real estate in the near future. It announced on April 28, the extension of the tender offer period to May 23, 2025.

“In the face of growing volatility in the economy and financial markets, we continue to deliver strong performance, highlighted by our first quarter results,” said Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian. “As we look ahead, recent shifts in booking behavior—particularly in shorter-term demand—have led us to modestly revise our outlook for the remainder of the year. That said, we remain confident in the resilience of our asset-light business model, the strength of our brand portfolio, and our ability to adapt to evolving market conditions. We are excited about the momentum in our pipeline and the continued strong demand we're seeing for our brands around the world.”

Highlights from 1Q25 results include:

• Gross fees for 1Q24 were $307 million, an increase of 16.9% year-over-year with properties from the Bahia Principe and Standard International transactions contributing approximately $17 million, or 38%, of the total gross fee growth.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $273 million, an increase of 5.4%, or an increase of 24.4% after adjusting for assets sold in 2024, compared to the first quarter of 2024
• Hyatt said business transient and group travel drove system-wide and U.S. RevPAR growth. The quarter was impacted by Easter, which took place in the second quarter, whereas the holiday fell in the first quarter last year.
• Base management fees increased 16%, driven by managed hotel RevPAR growth and the contribution of newly-opened hotels.
• Incentive management fees grew 18%, led by newly-opened hotels, Americas all-inclusive resorts, favorable FX, and international hotels, notably in Asia Pacific (excluding Greater China).
• Franchise and other fees expanded 17%, due to non-RevPAR fee contributions, RevPAR growth in the U.S, and newly-opened hotels.
• Owned and leased segment Adjusted EBITDA grew 18% after adjusting for assets sold in 2024, compared to the first quarter of 2024. Comparable owned and leased margin increased by 70 bps in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2024.