Hilton Looks Beyond Omicron to Double Down on China Growth Plans
Photo Credit: A Waldorf Astoria in the Chinese city of Xiamen (pictured) opened in late 2020. Hilton
Skift Take
Global hotel companies like Hilton are quick to say China’s stretched-out lockdown measures aren’t deterring them from developing new projects there. Too much money is riding on these potentially lucrative deals to happen.
A zero-tolerance approach to new coronavirus cases tanked Chinese hotel performance off-and-on since last summer. That doesn’t mean much to Hilton’s development team.
Hilton accounted for the largest share of China’s hotel development pipeline at the end of last year, according to Lodging Econometrics. Investor analysts have wondered in recent weeks if the country’s tough approach to combatting the spread of the virus would make developers think twice about pursuing new deals there. Hilton leaders Wednesday were in overdrive touting the long-term benefit of continuing to beef up the company’s Chinese portfolio.
“Most of the development trends have been following the trend of the virus — meaning, as the world's been opening up in those regions, you see a pretty direct correlation to signing activity and approval activity in those regions, led by the U.S.,” Kevin Jacobs, Hilton’s chief financial officer, said on an investor call Wednesday. “China has been kind of the exception to that rule, meaning even with lockdowns and people not moving around, you would th
