Big brands use ALIS to recap pipelines, accomplishments

Hilton. The company ended 2023 with the strongest development quarter in its history, opening 132 hotels and approximately 24,000 rooms in Q4. Hilton opened 395 hotels and approximately 63,000 rooms for the year, resulting in a net unit growth of 4.9%. Its development pipeline is also up 45% from the prior year and is the largest in its history, with nearly 3,300 hotels and more than 462,000 rooms.

Hyatt Hotels Corp. The company said it had a record pipeline of 127,000 rooms worldwide at the end of 2023, representing nearly 40% of the existing rooms in Hyatt’s overall portfolio. Hyatt said since 2017, it has doubled the number of luxury rooms, tripled resort rooms and quadrupled lifestyle rooms. The company has approximately 2,000 pipeline rooms across North America for its upper-upscale extended-stay brand, Hyatt Studios.

IHG Hotels & Resorts. The company touted its growth in the luxury and lifestyle segments and said it has one of the largest portfolios of those hotels globally, with its six brands representing 22% of its global pipeline. That number is nearly double its total from five years ago. IHG’s brands in that segment represent 800 open and pipeline hotels, 260 of which are in the Americas.

Best Western Hotels & Resorts. The company announced seven new openings for its upscale brands in North America in the fourth quarter. Those additional hotels join the approximately 4,300 hotels and resorts in over 100 countries, now part of BWH’s global portfolio.

Accor. The company will open another 100 luxury and lifestyle hotels over the next two years, with expectations of 50 new signings in that segment per year. Accor also plans to increase its current portfolio of 450 hotels in the Americas to more than 700 over the next three years.

Sonesta International Hotels Corp. The Newton, Massachusetts-based company executed 65 new franchise agreements in 2023 in over 12 of its 17 brands. The agreements added 5,697 rooms to the company’s portfolio.

Aimbridge Hospitality. The Plano, Texas-based hotel management company with a growing hotel portfolio representing more than 1,500 properties under contract in 20 countries said it closed 2023 with a strong mix of deals, new market entries, and property reopenings. During 2023, Aimbridge grew its portfolio through a combination of management changes, ownership transitions, receiverships, and new build projects across the United States and its two geographic divisions servicing the EMEA and LATAM regions. More projects are on the horizon in 2024, including a 2023 deal naming Aimbridge as the operator of the Rugby Football Union’s Twickenham Stadium Hotel, which will transition to a Radisson RED property this year.

Ennismore. The UK-based company is opening more than 15 new hotels across its brand portfolio for 2024, including properties in London, Paris and Dubai. Ennismore is also opening hotels in new markets like Budapest, Jakarta, Jeddah and Nice.

First Hospitality. The Chicago-based operator and developer increased its hotels and restaurants under management in 2023 by nearly 40%. It entered five new markets and continued its focus on upscale, soft brand and lifestyle hotels, which is now nearly 40% of its portfolio. Its newly managed properties grew RevPAR Index YOY by an average of 3.2%.