Recently, I covered US airline CEO compensation for last year, since proxy statements have been filed in the past couple of weeks. Curiosity got the best of me, so I also had a look at CEO compensation for the major hotel chains, just for fun.
Honestly, it’s not quite as interesting as at the airlines, but I figure some others are curious as well, so here’s a quick rundown…
In this post:
Comparing pay among major hotel group CEOs
So, how were the CEOs of the major hotel groups compensated in 2024? They certainly weren’t Bonvoyed, I’ll tell you that! Here’s a high level rundown, and I’ll also include 2023, for comparison. Here are the total compensation amounts for the three CEOs of Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott (the publicly traded, US-based groups that are probably most interesting to OMAAT readers):
- Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta earned $28.0 million in 2024, compared to $26.6 million in 2023
- Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano earned $21.9 million in 2024, compared to $22.7 million in 2023
- Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian earned $16.6 million in 2024, compared to $20.8 million in 2023
It’s important to emphasize that while the above are the amounts of the total compensation, the structure of this varied by company, so we’re not talking about all cash compensation here.
As you can tell, Hilton’s Chris Nassetta was the highest paid CEO. His $28 million in compensation included a $1.3 million base salary, $3.2 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation, $5.8 million in options awards, and $17.3 million in stock awards.
I find airline industry economics much more interesting
Obviously I cover topics about both the airline and hotel industry. While I love staying up to date on hotel loyalty programs, new openings, etc., the finance side of things just isn’t as interesting to me as in the airline industry.
That’s simply because the hotel business is a bit easier (which isn’t to say it’s easy, but just as a relative matter). The major hotel groups have stable business models and take an asset-light approach, so they’re just taking a cut on hotel revenue, along with some other revenue streams (like loyalty). So profitably doesn’t vary wildly year-to-year, unlike with airlines, where they can make billions one year, and lose billions the next year.
As you can see, there’s a bit more consistency in year-to-year pay among hotel CEOs vs. airline CEOs. It’s interesting to note that in 2024, Hilton was significantly more profitable than in 2023, while that wasn’t the case for Hyatt and Marriott.
For hotel CEOs, the focus is always on growth. At Marriott, they’re looking for any opportunity to take a cut on someone going to sleep. Who knows, maybe they’ll add mattress stores to Marriott Bonvoy soon. Meanwhile Hyatt has of course been on an all-inclusive kick, as its focus for expansion, along with an effort to expand limited service conversion properties. Hilton seems to be mostly flying under the radar, largely pursuing organic growth.
Bottom line
You can sleep well at night knowing that your hotel CEOs are all raking in eight figures. Hilton’s CEO is the top paid, followed by Marriott’s CEO, followed by Hyatt’s CEO. I don’t think there’s anything terribly surprising here (well, at least for Americans — many foreigners are shocked when they find out how well paid CEOs of publicly traded companies are in the US).
Are you surprised by these hotel CEO compensation numbers?
I see some common factors.
Delta/Hilton have a very close relationship w/ Amex and both have very dynamically priced loyalty programs. Obviously this is the way to generate the most profits.
Hyatt still has a long way to go before they can compete with the rival footprints, so I'm hoping their better loyalty programme lasts for a bit longer.
And by comparison, the federal US minimum wage (effective minimum wage in 20 states) is now below the poverty line, assuming they work 40 hours/week every week of the year. Even somebody earning $16/hour only earns $33.6k before taxes (this is what Panda Express advertises paying their counter help in my city). It's disgusting how grossly overpaid US CEOs are compared to their international counterparts.
And you can bet your butt that the guest was the one squeezed for profit. Hilton properties are in a shocking state of disrepair, with shockingly poor service, compared to even a few years ago.
Y'all know the purpose of this is to build generational wealth and ensure your kids, and their kids, and so on and so forth, are free to pursue their dreams, unencumbered by the burdens of debt and bankruptcy?
Eight-figure compensation may be seen as lavish, and maybe at one point that was so, but in today's era of...
Y'all know the purpose of this is to build generational wealth and ensure your kids, and their kids, and so on and so forth, are free to pursue their dreams, unencumbered by the burdens of debt and bankruptcy?
Eight-figure compensation may be seen as lavish, and maybe at one point that was so, but in today's era of a nonexistent middle class, you're either poor or rich. If you're even halfway smart and charismatic, then you're mortgaging the livelihoods of your offspring if you pursue any career path that doesn't generate 7- to 8-figure annual income.
You don't get tired of LARPing this (really weird) persona, that absolutely no one takes seriously?
The joke is old, dude.