Hilton CEO Not Too Worried About What Delta Variant Could Do to Travel’s Recovery
Photo Credit: Hilton rode leisure demand into its first profit since the start of the pandemic. Hilton/Resorts World Las Vegas
Skift Take
Leisure may lead the way for now, but Hilton is banking on business travel reviving in a matter of months. Without more people getting vaccinated, variants of the virus can quickly turn informed predictions into blind optimism.
Rising coronavirus case counts heavily impacting the unvaccinated isn’t swaying Hilton’s bright business outlook for the rest of the year.
Hilton swung to a $128 million profit in the second quarter, the company’s first profitable quarter since the start of the pandemic. The company is riding high on a massive wave of leisure travel demand and high-profile openings like three hotels across the new Resorts World complex in Las Vegas. But Hilton is also bullish on the return of business travel over the next few months.
The contagious Delta variant, now the leading cause of new coronavirus cases around the world, isn’t much of a factor in Hilton’s growth projections.
“We know there are risks out there. We’re not oblivious to that,” Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta said. “We think those are all reasonably manageable.”
Despite the rise in cases across the U.S. in recent weeks, Hilton’s top executive is bullish on the idea there is pent-up business travel dem
