News

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. HLT upper-midscale brand — Hampton by Hilton — recently unveiled a North American prototype and a refreshed global brand identity. The initiative underscores the company’s commitment to solidify its position as a premium brand in the evolving landscape of travel.

The new North American prototype focuses on modernizing, improving functionality and cost-effectiveness to enhance the overall guest experience. Updates include maximizing revenue opportunities by increasing the total number of keys, reducing costs with new FF&E packages (for both new constructions and renovations), enhancing exterior and interior designs, and uplifting decor packages. The company plans to debut the North American prototype by early 2025.

Meanwhile, the company has partnered with Jones Knowles Ritchie to create a unique brand identity tailored for future global expansion. The redesigned identity reflects the brand's welcoming environment and dedication to providing comfortable and enjoyable travel experiences through inviting illustrations celebrating traveler diversity, refined typography, a carefully curated color palette and bespoke typography.

The company intends to integrate the updated visual identity across all brand-related endeavors, marketing strategies and communication channels globally at the property level throughout 2024.

With a focus on innovation and maintaining a steadfast commitment to delivering exceptional stays and genuine hospitality, management is optimistic. It anticipates the initiatives to foster growth in the upcoming periods.

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So far this year, shares of Hilton have gained 15.6% compared with the industry’s 13.5% growth. The company is benefiting from unit expansion, hotel conversions, strategic partnerships, loyalty programs and an asset-light business model. It expects positive development trends to continue on the back of new development and conversion opportunities. HLT aims to engage Honors members further through enhanced partnerships and points redemption offerings, seeking to restore customer engagement to pre-pandemic levels. For the first quarter of 2024, management anticipates system-wide RevPAR to increase in the 2-4% band on a year-over-year basis. Earnings estimates for 2024 have moved up in the past 30 days, depicting analysts’ optimism regarding the stock’s growth potential.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Hilton currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector are as follows:

Trip.com Group Limited TCOM sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). TCOM has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 53.1%, on average. Shares of TCOM have gained 19.6% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TCOM’s 2024 sales and earnings per share (EPS) indicates a rise of 18.2% and 1.8%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. RCL carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). RCL has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 26.4% on average. Shares of RCL have surged 123.1% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RCL’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 14.7% and 47.9%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation H carries a Zacks Rank #2. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 17.8% on average. Shares of H have increased 45.7% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for H’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 3.5% and 25%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.