Hilton CEO Sees More Room to Improve Owner Margins

Photo Credit: Hilton President and CEO Christopher Nassetta speaks at the Skift Global Forum in New York City on September 23, 2026. Skift Hotel owners have had a hard decade, and Hilton President and CEO Christopher Nassetta says the company is trying to help. “It’s really abnormal in my experience of 40-plus years of doing this, where you would have essentially, other than a sugar high, a really difficult 10 years,” he said at the Skift Global Forum on Wednesday. “I don’t think it’s normal.” His explanation ran from the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2008 through what he called “really anemic” broader growth in 2017 and 2018, the pandemic wiping out more than 90% of revenue, a government-stimulus-fueled recovery, and then a return to weak growth with high inflation. Nassetta said he began developing a response in late 2024 and early 2025. Hilton launched Project Rise last June and rolled it out this year, with a commitment to return 75 to 100 basis points of incremental margin to owners.