certain brand . Jacobs said that Hilton uses key money on less than 10 % of its deals . “ We use it when we have to ; when it gets competitive ,” he said .
GROWTH AND BEYOND Hilton said it added a record 36,600 rooms to its system in the third quarter , contributing to record net unit growth of 7.8 % from September 30 , 2023 . Construction starts were up 21 %, excluding acquisitions and partnerships , with approximately half of Hilton ’ s pipeline under construction . “ We continue to have more rooms under construction than any other hotel company , accounting for more than 20 % of industry share and nearly four times our existing share of supply ,” Nassetta said .
During Hilton ’ s Investor Day in March , Nassetta set out an EBITDA guidance of $ 3.69 billion in 2025 against a RevPAR environment growing at a clip of around 1 % to 2 %. Do the two square up ? Nassetta thinks so .
“ How do we feel broadly about 2025 ? We feel pretty good about it ,” he said , pointing to a stronger macro consensus based on an economy that he referred to as “ resilient ,” though acknowledging a slowing growth rate do to tightening Federal Reserve measures that will keep rates higher and for longer . “ Next year is going to look a lot like this year from a same-store growth point of view ,” Nassetta said , adding the rather weak China performance will pick up . He noted that booking windows are extending because there ’ s not enough supply relative to the demand in the group segment .
Group business was a standout for Hilton in the quarter . Group RevPAR rose more than 5 % year over year , led by strong demand for both corporate and social meetings and events . For the full year , Hilton group position is up 10 % with group position in 2025 and 2026 up low double digits to mid-teens . Nassetta commented that on the group side Hilton is seeing a pick up in city-wide events , which have longer in gestation periods because they are booked multiple years in advance . “ They spent millions of dollars planning these events , and they went for two or three years unwilling and or unable to do that ,” he said .
There is “ terrific demand ” for corporate meetings , he said , “ even though the workplace is sort of normalizing , it is not going back to what it was . A lot of people have needs and are making up for a time when they were more remote and they need to do meetings for innovation and culture building and the like .”
On the international side , Hilton said that around 55 % of its pipeline of projects lie outside the U . S . Despite China ’ s fuzzy economic picture , and recent reporting that some Chinese residents are moving billions of dollars out of the country over worries of a cratering property market and economic doldrums , Nassetta was rosy over the country ’ s prospects . “ I think the China business is doing great ,” he said . “ We think we ’ ll be up in China this year .”
On those real estate concerns , Nassetta said China is trying to find different uses for some buildings , which can be a boon for Hilton ’ s conversion business , particularly in the limited-service segment , “ both in our master limited partnerships and in our Hilton Garden Inn business ,” Nassetta noted , where it can employ adaptive reuse .
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