In late April this year, amid global economic uncertainty, Hilton Worldwide revised its 2025 revenue growth outlook, the first major hotel brand to do so. While the downward revision reflects a more cautious view of consumer travel spending. However, the company remains upbeat about its long-term prospects, with President and CEO Christopher Nassetta recently noting that Hilton could grow its portfolio to 27 brands in the near future, up from the current 24.

But how does national and international economic news play out at the consumer level? We use YouGov data to find out and see what that means for Hilton Hotels.

Getting to know economy-conscious Americans

Economy-conscious Americans (ECAs) are U.S. adults who say they consider news about finance and the economy before making big purchases.

YouGov Profiles data covering demographic, psychographic, attitudinal and behavioral consumer metrics shows that half of the general American population (51%) say they take financial and economic news into account before making big purchases.

  • ECAs are most likely to be from the South (39%) followed by the West (26%), Midwest (18%) and the Northeast (17%).
  • They are most likely to be middle income earners (income between 75% and 200% of the median) or lower income earners (income less than 75% of the median). Four in ten (41%) belong to the middle income group and over a third (35%) are lower income. Only one in ten belong to the higher income group (income is higher than 200% of the median).
  • Nearly half (48%) of ECAs are neither a parent nor a guardian (compared to 43% of the population as a whole). Almost a third (31%) have at least one child over 18 compared to 37% of the general population, while just over a fifth (21%) have at least one child under 18, a similar proportion to the general population (21%).
  • Crucially, when it comes to the accommodations world, 62% of economy-conscious Americans are passionate about travel. This is significantly higher than the general population (53%).

What do the economy-conscious Americans think of Hilton Hotels

Our data shows that Hilton holds a strong position among ECAs. Almost six in ten (56%) of Hilton inclined travelers (its current customers or those who would consider the brand when booking accommodation) are economy-conscious – compared to 51% of the general population.

But what exactly do economy-conscious Americans appreciate about Hilton compared to similar hotel brands? As far as ECAs are concerned, Hilton consistently outpaces its peers by wide margins. Here, the peer hotel group numbers are comprised of combined data for Hyatt, Marriott and Wyndham hotel brands.

Hilton’s strongest leads are on Quality (47 vs. 35) and Impression (46 vs. 34), both areas where it outpaces the sector by 12 points. It is a similar situation when it comes to Recommend (36 vs. 27), Reputation (36 vs. 27), and Satisfaction (28 vs. 20) scores.

The only relative soft spot is Value, where Hilton still leads (19 vs. 15), but by a narrower margin.

How differently do ECAs and Hilton inclined travelers see vacations? 

Attitudinally, there is a lot that sets the economy-conscious Americans apart from Hilton inclined travelers.

ECAs are more likely to stick to a strict budget (61% vs. 49%) and prefer vacations that offer learning or new experiences (77% vs. 72%). They’re also more inclined to go off the beaten track (58% vs. 50%) and book short breaks outside of peak school vacations (45% vs. 36%).

The data shows that economy-conscious Americans show a stronger preference for deal-hunting and flexibility as compared to Hilton inclined travelers. Over a third of ECAs say they wait for last-minute deals rather than plan vacations in advance (36% vs. 28%), and 32% say they would never consider a package holiday - a sentiment shared by 24% of Hilton inclined travelers.

Even tech plays a role: 41% of economy-conscious Americans say technology distracts them from enjoying a vacation, compared to 35% of their Hilton counterparts.

Overall

While Hilton performs well with the economy-conscious Americans across the metrics observed, there’s room to grow when it comes to value. In a travel market shaped by inflation, uncertainty, and tighter wallets, it’s more important than ever for brands to understand this audience deeply in order to cater to them effectively.

Curious what economy-conscious Americans think about your brand?Speak with us

Methodology:

YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for the U.S. is nationally representative and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.

YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. The scores for each metric are delivered as a net score between –100 and + 100, and for Hilton they are based on an average sample size of 8,144 U.S. adults. The net scores for Peer hotel groups are based on an average sample size of 24,277 U.S. adults. Observation period: January 1, 2024 – July 15, 2025.

Metric glossary:

  • Impression – Whether a consumer has a positive or negative impression of a brand
  • Satisfaction – Whether a consumer is currently a satisfied or dissatisfied customer of a particular brand
  • Quality – Whether a consumer considers a brand to represent good or poor quality
  • Value – Whether a consumer considers a brand to represent good or poor value for money
  • Recommendation – Whether a consumer would recommend a brand to a friend or colleague or not
  • Reputation – Whether a consumer would be proud or embarrassed to work for a particular brand

Image by Bruce Emmerling from Pixabay

Learn more about ProfilesLearn more about BrandIndex