Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. SWOT and PESTLE Analysis

Strength

1. Comprehensive property portfolio: Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc. comprises of 14 world-class brands that includes Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Canopy by Hilton, Curio - A Collection by Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Embassy Suites by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, Tru by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. They served over 140 million guests in 2015 alone in over 104 countries.

2. Strong business history with experience leadership: Founded in 1919, Hilton Worldwide Holdings is one of the oldest in the hotel business. It has even pioneered concepts like the airport-hotel by opening the first one, a 380-room San Francisco Airport Hilton, and customer loyalty programs. Under the leadership of Christopher J. Nassetta, the company became public in its second IPO to raise an estimated $2.35 billion. He comes with a long background in the business and has introduced initiatives for enhancing the corporate culture, cost-cutting among others.

3. Successful loyalty program: Hilton Honors is its award-winning guest loyalty program that supports and provides targeted marketing, promotions and customized guest experiences to approximately 51 million members (of which 6 million added in 2015 alone). Honors members drive more than 52% of occupancy across Hilton brands and receive preferred pricing.

4. Positive brand equity through corporate responsibility: Recognized as a Fortune Best Companies to Work for in the U.S. and honored as a top company by the Great Place to Work Institute in China, Colombia, Netherlands, Peru, Italy and UAE, Hilton also filled 100,000 jobs, including new hires and internal job growth. It was named the Best Place to work for LGBT Equality and earned a perfect score on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index for fourth consecutive year.

5. Varied variety of room chain scale: The available rooms are segmented into Upper Upscale, Upscale, Upper Midscale and Luxury. The portfolio is well distributed among the ‘Upper’ segments almost equally at 35%, 33% and 29%. With the 13 brands and options of variety of rooms under its belt, Hilton is making inroads into the affordable back-to-basics experience as well with its newly launched brand Tru.

Weakness

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Opportunity

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Threat

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Political

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Economic

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Social

1. Shifting of consumer preferences towards traveling: There is a slow but steady trend of consumers, shifting their spending habits from materialistic goods toward traveling, vacationing and dining out which are more experience related and give greater pleasure. This has been marked by the growth in the millennial generation which has increased the preference for travel over other spends. In 2016, for the first time Americans spent more money in travel, restaurants and bars than at grocery stores. In 2016, U.S. airlines set a record, flying 823 million passengers. These shifting trends signal great opportunities for hospitality sector in general and Hilton which is one of the largest hotels group in United States and globally.

Technological

1. Revolutionizing customer experience with digitization: Customer experience is the cornerstone to success for players in the hospitality sector. With the advent of technology, hospitality sector needs to be abreast on the latest technology trends and how the same can be leveraged to achieve customer delight. Hilton has set global benchmarks in customer experience which has resulted in strong customer loyalty and has leveraged the latest innovation in its operations. In what was a first for the hospitality industry, Hilton allowed their guests to use digital check-in and room selection. Hilton announced in 2017 that it is aiming to personalize its bedrooms for guests using digital technology so that they can choose their preferences before they arrive.

2. Use of artificial intelligence and robotics: Use of robotics and chat bots powered by artificial intelligence is turning out to be the differentiating factor in the hospitality industry. Hilton has added artificial intelligence to its suite of digital concierge services which helps to convince more number of potential customers to use Hilton’s website for booking rather than third-party websites like hotels.com. This also helps Hilton to strengthen its relationship with more than 34 million guests it serves annually. The chatbot is built using a predictive technology by [24]7 Inc. and IBM Watson. Hilton is also testing quasi-concierge robot at Hilton McLean Virginia. These technologies are adding to the differentiated customer experience provided by market leaders such as Hilton.

Legal

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Environmental

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