Hilton CEO Previews New Brands and Tech Launches for 2018

Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta is already looking toward a busy 2018. Nassetta said the company's plans for 2018 include two to three new brand launches, the global rollout of an Internet of Things "connected room," a new room rate structure, and high hopes for corporate tax reform. "We're always working on new ideas," Nassetta said during Hilton's third quarter 2017 earnings call, when asked to elaborate on the new brands he mentioned recently at the Skift Global Forum. Hilton's Next New Brands Those ideas include four new brands that he noted were currently in "heavy development": a Hilton Plus (a slightly more upscale version of the Hilton brand as it is now); an urban micro hotel brand (which he described as a "hostel on steroids" at the Skift Global Forum); a luxury soft brand collection, and a luxury lifestyle brand. Of those four, Nassetta said it's likely that the Hilton Plus, urban micro, and luxury soft brand collection would debut in 2018. And in launching those br