Hilton’s Full Support on Ukraine
On February 24th, 2022, the war in Ukraine officially started. After 12 days, Hilton put out their Statement. On March 9th, Hilton stated 5 major actions they are going to take regarding the war in Ukraine.
1. Donating up to 1 million room nights to support Ukrainian refugees and humanitarian relief efforts across Europe, in partnership with American Express, #HospitalityHelps, and their community of owners.
2. Closing their corporate office in Moscow. They will also make sure any impacted Team Members will have continued work and pay.
3. Suspending all new development activity in Russia.
4. Donating any Hilton profits from business operations in Russia to the humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine.
5. Contributing $50,000 to World Central Kitchen and Project Hope to further assist with humanitarian aid by the Hilton Effect Foundation.
Impact on Business
Although several hotel executives don’t view the war in Ukraine as a drag on European hotel performance at the moment, their tune could change if the conflict continues to make travel to Europe more difficult. — — Rashaad Jorden
Hilton said they see little impact from geopolitical issues other than a slight uptick in cancellations and possible volatility in developments in directly affected countries. They continue to see leisure as a bright spot, but small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have offered commercial short-lived returns, with Hilton above these customers to maximize rates. While the outlook for large business accounts in 2022 remains positive, large business accounts have not kept pace with the SME recovery. Hilton still expects its capital return program to resume in the second quarter of 2022, with an opportunity to fully restore its dividend and resume share buybacks.
Financial Analysis
Hilton Worldwide generated about $5.79 billion in revenue in 2021, up from $4.31 billion the previous year. The overall decrease in revenue compared to recent years can be attributed to the global coronavirus pandemic, which has forced several Hilton Worldwide hotels around the world to close their doors in an effort to contain the spread of the virus.
Hilton Worldwide owns hotels including Hampton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and Waldorf Astoria. Hilton Hotels & Resorts recorded the highest hotel brand value in 2020 — valued at 10.83 billion U.S. dollars, thereby ranking before its main competitor Marriott International. However, they still ranked in second place in terms of revenue. Rival Marriott International generated over double the revenue of Hilton with nearly 10.57 billion U.S. dollars in 2020.
However, comparing the statement made by these two major hotel firms regarding the issue of war in Ukraine, Hilton’s contribution exceeds the actions taken by Marriott. The company only have taken two major actions. They earmarked $1,000,000 to their associate relief fund to support Ukraine and closed their corporate office in Moscow, and pause the opening of upcoming hotels and all future hotel development and investment in Russia. Considering Marriott made over double the revenue of Hilton in 2020, I was expecting something more from the company. Therefore, I believe Hilton took a major role in their actions with full support regarding the issues in Ukraine.
what do you think? let me know down below:)
