Travel’s Power Players, Hotel Growth Race and Expedia’s B2B Business
Skift Take
Key Points
- Skift's Power Rankings highlight the 30 most influential people in the travel industry, with Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta taking the top spot.
- Marriott and Hilton have achieved significant portfolio growth milestones, with Hyatt showing the largest room count increase over the past five years.
- Expedia's B2B business, valued at $25 billion, is defended by CEO Ariane Gorin as complementary to its consumer businesses, though some analysts suggest it may increase competition.
Summary
Skift has released its Power Rankings listing the 30 most influential people in the travel industry, with Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta at the top, followed by Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky and United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby. Marriott and Hilton have reached significant milestones in portfolio growth, while Hyatt has seen the largest room count increase over the past five years. Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin defended the company's $25 billion B2B business, stating it complements their consumer businesses, although some analysts believe it may create more competition for the company.
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Episode Notes
Skift has unveiled its Power Rankings, our list of the most influential people in the travel industry. With the help of Skift Research, our editors spent several months establishing a methodology, crunching the numbers and weighing each leader’s influence to create our list of travel’s 30 most powerful people.
Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta takes the top spot on our list. During his time as Hilton CEO, Nassetta has more than doubled Hilton’s global room. Number two is Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, who has helped change how many people travel around the world. And just behind Chesky is United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, the driving force behind the Chicago-based carrier being one of the U.S.’ most profitable airlines.
Next, both Marriott and Hilton recently reached milestones in terms of portfolio growth. What company is leading the hotel growth race though? Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill delves into the matter.
Hilton and Accor have seen their property counts increase by at least 6% in the past five years. Meanwhile, Hyatt registered a 25% growth spurt although O’Neill notes it was a jump from a significantly smaller base. As for room count, Hyatt was the largest gainer, recording a roughly 16% increase in the last five years.
Finally, Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin has defended its $25 billion B2B business, arguing it isn’t diluting the company’s consumer businesses, writes Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.
Gorin said at a recent investor conference that the B2B business is “incremental” to Expedia’s consumer businesses — including Expedia.com, Hotels.com and Vrbo. She noted that 60% of the bookings in the B2B business take place at points of sale on partner sites outside of the U.S. As for Expedia’s total business, including its consumer brands, only about 36% of revenue last year was generated outside of the U.S.
However, Skift Senior Research Analyst Pranavi Agarwal argues that Expedia is creating more competition for itself.
Photo Credit: A billboard in New York City showing Hilton's "It Matters Where You Stay" ad campaign. Hilton
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