Hilton President and CEO Christopher Nassetta was awarded $58.7 million in pay last year, more than the chiefs at rival hotel operators Marriott, Wyndham, IHG, and Accor, according to documents filed this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Rival companies Choice Hotels and Hyatt have yet to report their compensation figures.
What are these numbers? For U.S.-based hotel companies, Skift uses the “compensation actually paid” amount, which the SEC introduced in 2023 and aims to account for the value of stock and option awards as of year-end.
For decades, companies reported only the “pay all-in” figure, calculated based on the value of stock and options when they were awarded.
A case in point: Nassetta’s “compensation actually paid” was $58.7 million, higher than his “all-in pay” of $27.9 million. A lot of the difference came from the fair value of new stock and option awards he received last year — and which rose in value by year’s end.
Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta: $58.7 Million
Hilton’s Nassetta received a 3% larger pay package in 2024 than the prior year. One key reason: Hilton’s stock price rose 36% over the year. A smaller reason: Hilton opened nearly 100,000 rooms during the year, representing the biggest jump in the company’s history.
Like his CEO peers, Nassetta received most of his pay as potential incentive-based compensation, including annual incentives and stock awards.
Nassetta’s base salary was only $1.3 million, per the filing. But he also received annual cash incentives and long-term incentives delivered through a blend of performance stock units (50%), restricted stock units (25%), and stock options (25%).
One of Hilton’s key target metrics was Adjusted EBITDA, which reached $3.4 billion in 2024, exceeding the target by 2%.
The long-term incentive awards granted in February 2024 were valued at $23.1 million for Nassetta. About half of these awards were based on four metrics: Adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow per share, net unit growth on a compound annualized growth rate, and revenue per available room index growth.
Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano: $45.9 Million
Marriott President and CEO Anthony Capuano’s compensation declined 17% from the prior year to $45.9 million, according to Thursday’s filing.
The company tied his incentive-based compensation to many factors. One was Marriott meeting a goal of at least $4.4 billion in adjusted EBITDA, a goal the company passed by earning $4.98 billion.
Other key targets included Marriott achieving high scores on independent rankings of how workers like working at the company; the number of “active members” in Marriott’s loyalty program; the average scores guests give on surveys about their intent to recommend the group’s brands; and the company’s success at achieving targets for net rooms growth.
Wyndham CEO Geoffrey Ballotti: $25.4 Million
Wyndham President and CEO Geoffrey Ballotti made about $25.4 million last year, a 58% hike over the previous year.
The hotel franchisor’s SEC disclosures reveal that Ballotti’s compensation grew alongside the company’s financial performance. The company’s stock price rose nearly 40% over the year and is up about 70% since 2020.
Another of the company’s top financial performance metrics — adjusted EBIT per share — increased to $8.11 in 2024, up from $7.18 in 2023, continuing a five-year growth trend.
As a side note, Wyndham’s filing on Thursday also disclosed the financial arrangements following Lisa Checchio’s departure as its chief marketing officer last April. Checchio received a severance package valued at approximately $1.93 million plus $49,547 for COBRA health coverage premiums.
IHG CEO Elie Maalouf: $6.9 Million
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) CEO Elie Maalouf received around $6.9 million (£7.5 million) last year, according to its annual report.
Maalouf replaced Keith Barr. IHG’s share price rose about 82% between Maalouf’s first day on the job in July 2023 and the end of 2024.
Under regulatory and social pressure, European companies offer relatively more modest compensation packages for CEOs than U.S.-based companies do.
Accor CEO: Sébastian Bazin: $6 Million
Accor Group CEO and Chairman Sébastian Bazin took home about $6 million (€5.5 million), according to Friday’s filing.
Bazin’s annual fixed compensation remained at €950,000 (unchanged since 2016), while his variable compensation could have reached up to 150% of a €1.4 million reference amount, depending on performance metrics.
His compensation package emphasizes both financial and non-financial targets.
Quantitative objectives accounted for 80% of variable compensation, split between financial criteria (50%) and extra-financial metrics (30%), including unit growth and meeting environmental sustainability goals. Qualitative objectives made up the remaining 20%, focusing on implementing a roadmap for organizational change and talent development.
Long-term incentives included performance shares representing 280% of Bazin’s annual fixed compensation, tied to three-year performance conditions including EBITDA targets, free cash flow, energy intensity reduction, food waste management, and total shareholder return compared to competitors.
Accommodations Sector Stock Index Performance Year-to-Date
What am I looking at? The performance of hotels and short-term rental sector stocks within the ST200. The index includes companies publicly traded across global markets, including international and regional hotel brands, hotel REITs, hotel management companies, alternative accommodations, and timeshares.
The Skift Travel 200 (ST200) combines the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies worth more than a trillion dollars into a single number. See more hotels and short-term rental financial sector performance.
Read the full methodology behind the Skift Travel 200.