Hyatt raises 2026 comparable hotel room revenue growth forecast to 5.0%–5.5%
Key Facts
Hyatt raised its forecast for revenue per available room at comparable hotels systemwide to 5.0%–5.5% in 2026 compared with 2025, after the metric increased 7.2% year over year in the third quarter. The company said in its results statement that the revision reflected the quarter's performance and continued momentum after the Labor Day holiday. By contrast, net room revenue at comparable all-inclusive resorts fell 2.5% in the third quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. Chief Executive Mark Hoplamazian said the strong results, alongside 15% growth in gross fees, reflected the strength of the brands, the growing commercial platform and the asset-light business model. The company reported results on October 29, 2026, and scheduled its investor conference for the same day at 9:00 a.m. Central time.
Diluted earnings per share were $0.60 in the third quarter, while adjusted diluted earnings per share reached $1.27. Net income attributable to Hyatt was $58 million, compared with adjusted net income of $122 million. Gross fees rose to $327 million, up 15.2% from the third quarter of 2025. Adjusted EBITDA was $295 million, up 6.2% year over year, or 19% after adjusting for the impact of assets sold in 2025. The results reflect improved fees and adjusted operating earnings alongside differing performance at hotels and all-inclusive resorts.
The luxury hotel segment led room revenue growth during the quarter, while the metric in the United States rose 8.2% compared with the third quarter of 2025. Hyatt attributed U.S. performance to consumer strength in the United States, with some benefit from the FIFA World Cup and the timing of Jewish holidays. The company said the decline in net room revenue at all-inclusive resorts mainly reflected lower demand for travel to certain destinations in Mexico. Growth in the Caribbean and Europe helped offset part of the decline, but did not prevent an overall drop in the resorts metric. For the full year, the company expects U.S. room revenue growth of 5%–6% in 2026, moderately stronger than growth in international markets.
Hyatt forecast adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $1.17–$1.20 billion in 2026, up 14%–17% from 2025 after adjusting the comparison base for the period of ownership of hotels acquired from Playa and assets sold. It also forecast net income attributable to the company of $240 million to $310 million and gross fees of $1.320–$1.335 billion for the year. On expansion, the number of rooms in its executed management or franchise contract network reached about 158,000 in the third quarter, up 12.1% from the same period last year. Actual net room growth over the twelve months ended in the third quarter was 3.8%, or 3.9% excluding Playa rooms removed from Hyatt's room count in the fourth quarter of 2025. The company expects net room growth of about 6% in 2026 compared with 2025.
The company expects net room revenue at all-inclusive resorts to return to growth in the fourth quarter and remain positive for the full year. Hyatt said booking trends in Mexico continued to improve sequentially after weaker demand in some destinations weighed on business results during the third quarter. As of September 30, 2026, total liquidity was $1.8 billion, including $495 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, and $1,347 million of available borrowing capacity after letters of credit. Total debt was $4.4 billion on the same date. These figures provide a picture of the company's liquidity and debt at quarter-end as it continues to fund expansion and return capital to shareholders.
Hyatt raised its 2026 forecast for shareholder returns to $375–$425 million through dividends and share repurchases. The company repurchased 867,109 Class A shares for $147 million during the third quarter, and total returns to shareholders since the start of the year through September 30 reached $336 million. It declared a $0.15 per-share cash dividend for the fourth quarter, payable on December 7 to shareholders of record on November 23. The dividend is part of the expected annual capital return range, which includes dividends and repurchases. In the market, the stock closed at $172.97 on October 27 and then at $173.35 on October 28, ahead of the results released on October 29.