Hilton expands loyalty program and hotel network amidst competition with Marriott

Hilton has announced significant growth in its loyalty program and hotel expansion, indicating its competitive stance against Marriott International. The Hilton Honors program now boasts over 200 million members, a notable achievement as analysts speculate if it could surpass Marriott Bonvoy, which had over 210 million members at mid-year. With Marriott's upcoming earnings call, this number is expected to increase.

In addition to loyalty membership growth, Hilton reported a net increase of 33,600 hotel rooms in the third quarter, marking an unprecedented pace of nearly 8% room growth compared to the previous year. This quarter saw Hilton opening more hotel rooms than any other period in its history.

"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," said Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta during an earnings call.