Recently, I covered US airline CEO compensation for last year, since proxy statements have been filed in the past few 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 (at least to me), 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 2025? They certainly weren’t Bonvoyed, I’ll tell you that! Here’s a high level rundown, and I’ll also include 2024 and 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 $27.7 million in 2025, compared to $28.0 million in 2024, and $26.6 million in 2023
- Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian earned $27 million in 2025, compared to $16.6 million in 2024, and $20.8 million in 2023
- Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano earned $23 million in 2025, compared to $21.9 million in 2024, and $22.7 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 $27.7 million in compensation included a $1.3 million base salary, $3 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.
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 Hyatt’s CEO, followed by Marriott’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 cannot imagine caring about this at all. the nu. bet of comments (half a dozen or so) seems to suggest my feelings represent the majority of your readership.
Ben, I love your work and genuinely appreciate everything you do, but we have got to teach you to format data in a table. Do you have 30 mins to connect this week?
I admit I was worried that Hyatt's CEO wasn't going to get compensated well enough for destroying their loyalty program. My fears were for naught!
Oh, hey, similar post, similar comment: Remember an era when leaders of companies got paid maybe 20x the average worker? Yeah, now 200x or 2000x is the norm. That’s pretty messed up. Oh, and most CEOs aren’t even in the capital class (they’re just mere mercenaries for the billionaires, who pay next to nothing in taxes thanks to loopholes.) Meanwhile, we can’t pay workers enough to live where they work, or afford healthcare, plan for...
Oh, hey, similar post, similar comment: Remember an era when leaders of companies got paid maybe 20x the average worker? Yeah, now 200x or 2000x is the norm. That’s pretty messed up. Oh, and most CEOs aren’t even in the capital class (they’re just mere mercenaries for the billionaires, who pay next to nothing in taxes thanks to loopholes.) Meanwhile, we can’t pay workers enough to live where they work, or afford healthcare, plan for retirement; and consumers are unprotected... when hotel brands devalue their loyalty programs (or don't provide benefits that are supposed to be included with status, etc.) 191 days until midterms.
Oh, hey, similar post, similar comment: A lot of union leader also get paid 500k+.
Reminds me of the Godfather movie where you pay for "protection fees".
$500,000… verses… +$30,000,000? Do you see the difference there? Maybe CEOs should only make $500K. Good idea!
Oh hey, similar post, similar comment: A lot politicians make millions per year too. Remember, midterms are only 1990 quasidays away, vote against the billionaire class! Even the politicians that, due to an accounting error, went from having $30 million net worth to less than $100k. Nothing to see there, folks!
And oh hey, it's also stock compensation too, so that value kind of depends on how well the ship is steered. I bet the...
Oh hey, similar post, similar comment: A lot politicians make millions per year too. Remember, midterms are only 1990 quasidays away, vote against the billionaire class! Even the politicians that, due to an accounting error, went from having $30 million net worth to less than $100k. Nothing to see there, folks!
And oh hey, it's also stock compensation too, so that value kind of depends on how well the ship is steered. I bet the Avis CEO wished he/she could have sold during the short squeeze.
You know me, always for the working class! Anyway, when's my next TATL flight in business class?
Hyatt CEO's pay has risen the most. It is true that Hyatt is one of the fastest growing loyalty programs.
Yes. It's growing into Hilton, in every way possible. Get ready for your $10 breakfast vouchers.