Hyatt Hotels posted another strong quarter and full year filled with acquisitions in 2024, only to announce yet another acquisition of Playa Resorts.
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Hyatt Q4 and Full Year 2024 Were Bright Spots
Hyatt showed growth of about 5% for the last quarter of 2024 and 4.6% in RevPar for the full year, 2024. The company earned over a billion dollars for the year.
“Adjusted net income was $40 million in the fourth quarter and $375 million for the full year of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA was $255 million in the fourth quarter and $1,096 million for the full year of 2024.” – Insider Travel Report
It was a heavy acquisition year for Hyatt, adding The Standard Hotel Group ($150MM), Bahia Principe on a 50/50 ownership deal at €359MM. This follows the acquisition and integration of Mr & Mrs Smith in 2023 and integration throughout 2023 and 2024.
The year pales in comparison with Marriott, Hilton in terms of total EBITDA but both those brands are significantly larger. On a per property basis, Hyatt is landing a substantial premium:
| Company | Net Income (2024) | Adjusted EBITDA (2024) | RevPAR Growth | Properties | EBITDA/Property |
| Marriott Int’l | $2,375 MM (approx. $2.38 bn) | ~$4,980 MM ( $4.98 bn) * | 4.30% | 9,300 | $ 585,484 |
| Hilton Worldwide | $1,539 MM ($1.54 bn) | $3,429 MM ($3.43 bn) | 2.70% | 8,400 | $ 408,214 |
| Hyatt Hotels Corp. | $1,296 MM ($1.30 bn) | $1,096 MM ($1.10 bn) | 4.60% | 1,400 | $ 782,857 |
A better basis would be earnings per key but these numbers show the representative difference in Hyatt’s performance vs the other majors, IHG had not reported earnings at the time of compilation.
Hyatt Buys Playa Resorts
Continuing its run of buying all-inclusive leisure chains, Playa Resorts & Hotels has been purchased outright by Hyatt for $2.6 bn. Hyatt had prior invested just less than 10% in the all-inclusive group, its first foray into the space. The chain adds 24 hotels chiefly among them, (5) Zivas and (3) Zilara properties, Hyatt’s first brand in the space.
Hyatt has already stated it believes it can sell the land in the deal for $2 bn to keep their asset-light management approach and generate an additional $20MM in management fees.
What is most interesting about this deal is how many properties are included in the deal from outside the brand. It’s not the first time, as ALG (purchased by Hyatt in the last couple of years) continues to sell brands other than Hyatt without brand conflicts. This is a little different as Playa owns resorts with Wyndham, IHG, and Hilton flags too. How long will those remain in the portfolio before they are converted or sold?
Running Out Of Acquisition Targets
Hyatt left its SLH partnership and bought Mr & Mrs Smith to fill its boutique curated booking segment. Its purchase of ALG added a hundred properties to the mix and Hyatt went from a handful of all-inclusives to the largest in the industry. They purchased a smaller brand with 2,000+ keys in late 2023 from Be Live. It acquired The Standard, its stake in Bahia Principe, and now Playa.
To maintain expansion in the leisure and all-inclusive space, the brand is going to have to go larger like Spanish brands Riu and Melia.
It begs the question, how much saturation in the leisure space, specifically in the all-inclusive end of the market does Hyatt feel it has the ability to absorb?
Conclusion
Hyatt had a good quarter and year but not remarkable. That said, it continues to outpace larger rivals on a per property basis despite continued acquisitions. Adding Playa is not a small effort and it demonstrates not only that Hyatt is confident in the all-inclusive and leisure space but will have to make larger and larger acquisitions going forward.
What do you think?
Profiting from the “extra fees flim-flam” ?
Net income and probably margin is better than EBIDTA for comparing chain performance. If one chain has a ton of debt, they could have a winning EBIDTA number, but a net loss given interest payments. Income per key could just reflect whether one hotel group skews towards more luxury or lower end properties which maybe a Hyatt Place has a lower income per room. Overall, Hyatt didn’t earn a billion, but more like the $375 million net income number you mention.
what do you think about prospect of them acquiring brands outside all inclusive and boutique space? eg
* rosewood
* peninsula
* scandic
* NH hotels
* pendry / montage
* four seasons
* shangri la
* Anantara
* citizenm
* belmond
* loewes
* mandarin oriental
* omni