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Hilton Hotels

Hilton Hotels' Earnings Point to a Fountain of Cash

January 31, 2007 at 12:21 PM | 0 Comments

Don't feel sorry for the Hiltons any time soon. Hilton Hotels released its earnings this morning and we wouldn't blame the execs if they called it a week and went partying in the Caribbean like CNN execs did last week.

Hilton Hotels posted a greater than expected rise in earnings for the fourth quarter, exceeded profit projections for 2006, and the company expects everything to keep looking rosy for the coming year. If you're the type that likes to decipher financial-speak, you can get the whole Hilton press release here.

But we'll supply the condensed version. 1)Room rates were sky-high in 2006, so 2)Profits were sky-high in 2006, and 3)Rates and profits are expected to be champagne-popping-worthy in 2007. Hilton said revenue in the quarter more than doubled to $2.23 billion (yes that's billion with a b) compared with the $2.2 billion expected by Wall Street.

As we've continually reported here, hotel rates hit a record across the board last year, due to strong demand and somewhat limited supply, especially in the most expensive markets. This wasn't all about the high end, however, as the company was able to raise prices in every budget category including their Doubletree, Hilton Garden Inn, and Homewood Suites by Hilton brands.

And it seems there's no stopping Hilton. The company still has plans to open 775 hotels in the Americas for a total of 110,000 hotel rooms. Hmm...world dominate much?

[Photo: Hagan.Blount]

Related Stories:
· Hilton Reports Strong Fourth Quarter, Fiscal 2006 Results [Yahoo! Biz]
· It's Official: You Paid More for a Hotel Roomin 2006