Hilton has recently made moves to acquire hotel brands such as Graduate Hotels and NoMad after 16 years of no acquisitions. The company’s commercial officer, Chris Silcock, stated that these acquisitions were driven by customer trends and filling gaps in their product offerings that customers are interested in. Despite the unexpected nature of these acquisitions, Silcock emphasized that they align with Hilton’s long-term corporate strategy and were purposeful and paced.
The acquisition of Graduate Hotels allowed Hilton to enter into franchise contracts for a set of hotels in university towns in the U.S. Silcock noted that the brand’s dedication to college pride and affinity to universities is unique and taps into an identity that other competitors have not been able to replicate. Hilton plans to scale the brand to at least 400 hotels worldwide by leveraging their commercial and development engines to drive performance and growth.
Hilton’s purchase of NoMad Hotels was described as opportunistic by Silcock, despite the brand only having two operating hotels since it was founded in 2012. Silcock believes that NoMad is a sustained successful luxury lifestyle brand that has potential for growth. Sydell Group will handle the design and food-and-beverage aspects of scaling the brand, while Hilton will manage the other operational aspects to ensure long-term success.
Some industry observers have raised concerns about Hilton’s ability to integrate these new brands operationally and culturally due to their long absence from acquisitions. However, Silcock downplayed these risks and noted that the acquisitions are relatively small compared to Hilton’s overall operations. Despite potential challenges, Silcock believes that the brands can be successfully integrated into Hilton’s ecosystem.
Hilton’s future mergers and acquisitions strategy will focus on non-duplicative brands that can enhance their portfolio and provide financial sense. The company will seek opportunities that align with their strategic goals and have room for growth after being integrated into Hilton’s marketing, distribution, and development engines. There is no fixed schedule for acquisitions to meet net room growth goals, but rather a focus on responsive opportunities that align with their overall strategy.
The Skift Travel 200 index tracks the performance of hotels and short-term rental sector stocks within the index. It includes companies publicly traded across global markets, covering international and regional hotel brands, hotel REITs, hotel management companies, alternative accommodations, and timeshares. This index combines the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies into a single number to provide insights into the sector’s overall performance.
