Hotel CEO Pay: Filings Reveal Who Made What — and How Boards Define Success
Photo Credit: A panel of CEOs from the largest hotel companies in the world at the NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum in New York City on June 2, 2025 Questex / Matt Rickman
Skift Take
Three hotel chiefs were awarded $36 million or more. One saw his pay effectively go negative. And a fourth turned down his bonus. Welcome to the eye-catching world of CEO pay.
Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano was awarded $39.5 million in 2025 pay, more than the bosses at smaller rivals Accor, Choice, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, and Wyndham, according to annual filings.
Capuano out-earned his peers in the "compensation actually paid" tally for 2025, a reversal from the previous two years, when Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta led the pack. The swap in top position had less to do with board generosity than with what stock portfolios did at year-end.
The headline figure of $138 million, split among seven hotel chiefs, tells one story. But the more revealing one is how each board defines success at each company — and what they expect their CEOs to pursue.
Marriott's board paid more for its CEO to plant flags and sign loyalty members than to max out margin. Hyatt's board designed awards that would cost its CEO millions to walk away from. And Wyndham's CEO turned down his own bonus.
Hotel CEO Pay in 2025 Hotel GroupCEOCompens
