What 10 Hotel and Resorts CEOs Were Paid in 2024

Hilton President and CEO Christopher Nassetta was awarded $58.7 million in pay last year, as Skift reported late last month.

Nassetta’s compensation topped a list of nine other hotel and resort company CEOs. We’re updating our list with a more complete set of names because other hotel operators have finally reported their executive compensation to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Hotel Group CEO Compensation in 2024

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.

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.

The company tied its incentive-based compensation for Capuano 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.

Las Vegas Sands CEO Robert Goldstein: $23.2 Million

Las Vegas Sands’ compensation for Goldstein reflected the company’s delivery of key operational and strategic objectives, particularly in its Asian markets, as well as a 7% share price appreciation over the year.

Under Goldstein’s leadership, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore achieved a record adjusted property EBITDA of $2.05 billion, a 10% year-over-year increase, despite ongoing renovations.

The company also completed significant capital projects across its Macao portfolio, including a new $1.2 billion phase of work at The Londoner Macao, while delivering growth in its Macao operations amid a competitive environment. Sands also finalized a supplemental agreement with the Singapore government for an $8 billion expansion project adjacent to Marina Bay Sands.

Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian: $20.4 Million

Hyatt Hotels rewarded CEO Mark Hoplamazian with $20.4 million in compensation actually paid for 2024.

The board linked much of Hoplamazian’s pay to three critical metrics: adjusted EBITDA, total shareholder return, and net rooms growth. The hotel giant maintained a strong adjusted EBITDA of $1.19 billion, saw its shareholder return rise 21%, and boosted its net rooms growth by 7.8% year over year.

Choice Hotels CEO Patrick Pacious: $16.9 Million

Patrick Pacious, CEO of Choice Hotels, saw his compensation actually paid reach $16.9 million in 2024.

The compensation package reflected Choice’s strong financial performance, with operating income reaching $514.1 million and net income hitting $299.7 million for the year.

The hotel chain’s stock price surged 25% year-over-year, significantly boosting the value of Pacious’s equity awards.

Wynn Resorts CEO Craig Billings: $14.2 Million

Under CEO Billings’ leadership, Wynn achieved the highest Adjusted Property EBITDAR (a measure of profitability) in the history of its Las Vegas operations, at $946.8 million. Its Macau operations saw its adjusted property EBITDA surge 23.2% year-over-year to $1.1 billion.

The luxury resort company made progress on growth efforts, such as the construction of Wynn Al Marjan Island in the UAE, which has now reached the 38th floor. It simultaneously pursued a New York state gaming license and advanced non-gaming investments in Macau.

Wynn strengthened its financial position by repaying $1.2 billion in debt.

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).

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.

MGM Resorts CEO William Hornbuckle: $2 Million

William Hornbuckle’s pay package included a $2 million base salary, $3.7 million in non-equity incentive compensation, and $10 million in stock awards. However, about 70% of his bonus was tied to an adjusted EBITDAR performance goal that the company didn’t hit.

A share price decline led to a 22.4% drop in total shareholder value.

So, using the SEC’s measure for incentive-based awards that fluctuate in market value, Hornbuckle effectively didn’t earn any benefits. That was true despite MGM Resorts’ record-breaking net revenue performance.

However, in 2023, Hornbuckle had a good year, and his compensation was $17 million.

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.