Calling it "the strongest third quarter" in the company's history, Hyatt Hotels Corp. President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian said the return of core demand segments is driving earnings growth.
"Meetings are back in full force," he said, speaking during the company's third-quarter earnings call. "Corporate travelers are back again."
For the quarter, Hyatt reported $252 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, up from $110 million in the third quarter of 2021. Apple Leisure Group contributed $78 million to the company's third-quarter adjusted EBITDA.
The company raised its net rooms guidance for full-year 2022 to 6.5%, primarily in response to a handful of deals, including an agreement with Lindner Hotels AG to expand Hyatt's portfolio in Germany and other parts of Europe. A deal with Japan's Kiraku, Inc. also spurred the launch of what Hyatt claims is the first international ryokan — traditional Japanese inns — brand.
Comparable system-wide revenue per available room was up 45.9% year over year for the quarter to $133.31. RevPAR was up 35.6% in the company's U.S. portfolio to $147.70.
Hyatt continues to see strength in its Apple Leisure Group portfolio, with the company's all-inclusive net package RevPAR hitting $176.61 in the quarter with average daily rate of $243.75.
Hyatt opened 22 new hotels with 4,243 rooms across its system in the third quarter, including Dreams Cozumel, Hyatt Regency Lisbon, Park Hyatt Jakarta, Thompson Madrid and Unbound Magma Resort Santorini. The company's current pipeline is roughly 550 hotels with 114,000 rooms, including 20 ALG properties with 8,000 rooms.
Hyatt will continue its plan to sell off $2 billion in owned real estate by the end of 2024, with its most recent transactions being the $40 million sale of the Hyatt Regency Greenwich in Connecticut to Trinity Investments and the sale of the operating entity of the Hyatt Regency Mainz in Germany. Both deals included long-term management agreements.