Hilton Expands Owner Profitability with Reduced Loyalty Fees and Rise Program in Q2 2026

Owner profitability initiatives: reduced loyalty fees and the Hilton Rise program (and what they mean for owners)

1) Why Hilton is focused on owner profitability

Hilton frames these initiatives as responses to a difficult operating period for owners—especially in the U.S., where inflation, expense pressures, and weak top-line growth have squeezed margins—and it says it is “evaluat[ing] every decision through the lens of owner profitability.” ¹²³⁴ The company also states that these initiatives are intended to help owners lower costs, strengthen hotel profitability, and improve their returns. ⁴

2) Reduced loyalty fees: what changed and why

What Hilton did

Hilton says it reduced loyalty fees for most hotels globally because of continued Hilton Honors scale and efficiency. ⁴ In the same discussion, management characterizes these as reductions in loyalty fees that began in January (with the “official” launch in January and an earlier launch the prior year). ¹

What Hilton claims this will do for owner economics

Hilton links the combination of fee reductions and Project RISE to owner margin uplift, stating that the combination of those actions is “somewhere between 75 and 100 basis points in margin for owners.” ¹ While the excerpt doesn’t break out how much of that margin benefit is attributable solely to loyalty-fee reductions versus Project RISE, it clearly positions loyalty-fee reduction as one of the two core levers that drive the total owner margin improvement estimate. ¹⁴

What it means for owners (mechanically)

Because Hilton is reducing “loyalty fees” paid by hotels in the Hilton Honors program, the immediate owner implication is a lower recurring program fee load for participating properties. ¹⁴⁵ Hilton also clarifies that these discounts apply to “program fees, you know, in loyalty and in the program versus other fees,” meaning the fee reduction is targeted to the royalty/program fee categories rather than a blanket reduction of all other cost lines. ⁵

3) Hilton Rise (Project RISE): what it is and how the “gate” works

What it is

Hilton describes Project RISE / “Hilton Rise” as a reduction in program costs driven by efficiencies (including “better process, AI, and a lot of other innovative thinking”). ¹⁴ Hilton’s management explicitly connects Hilton Rise to owner profitability by saying it provides program fee discounts when hotels consistently deliver an excellent guest experience. ⁴

How Hilton Rise is structured: the gating system

Hilton says Hilton Rise includes a “gating system” that is intended to be fair to owners while also improving outcomes for guests. ⁶ Management describes the concept as follows:

• Owners (hotels) get through the gate if they deliver a good experience for customers. ⁶
• If the experience is not good, hotels must work on that to meet the standards. ⁶
• The standards move “up every year,” implying increasing requirements over time. ⁶

Hilton also asserts that roughly half of the U.S. system is “getting the full benefit” of both the fee reductions and the RISE gating benefits “right now,” and that the benefit coverage is expected to continue to grow. ⁶

What it means for owners (economic and behavioral)

The owner implication is twofold:

1. Opportunity for additional fee discounts tied to performance
   Hilton Rise is not purely a flat fee reduction; it adds a performance-based discount mechanism tied to delivering an “excellent guest experience.” ⁴ This means owners who can reliably deliver those guest outcomes should receive greater benefits than those who do not. ⁶⁴

2. A clearer incentive alignment between guest experience and owner economics
   Hilton states that RISE “incent[iv]e[s] the right behaviors … delivering the right outcomes for customers,” which then helps support wider system performance (share growth), and Hilton links that to the broader “flywheel” benefiting both Hilton and owners. ⁶⁷

4) Combined impact: margin uplift estimate and practical takeaways

Hilton quantifies the combined effect of loyalty-fee reductions and Project RISE as “somewhere between 75 and 100 basis points in margin for owners.” ¹ While the excerpt does not attribute that total to each initiative individually, it clearly treats them as complementary components of an owner profitability package. ¹⁴

Practical meaning for owners

From the company’s description, these changes mean owners can expect:

• Lower program/loyalty fee burden (via reduced loyalty fees and program fee discounts). ¹⁴⁵
• Potential upside tied to operational execution (through the Hilton Rise gate, with standards that rise over time). ⁶⁴
• Greater expected share of the system capturing full benefits over time, at least in the U.S., since Hilton says about half of the U.S. system is currently receiving the full benefit and expects growth. ⁶

5) What Hilton Rise is not (based on the excerpt)

Hilton does not claim (in the excerpts provided) that every owner will receive the full benefit immediately; it explicitly describes a gating system and indicates “roughly half” of the U.S. system currently benefits fully. ⁶ Also, Hilton emphasizes that the fee discounts are in “program fees” (including loyalty/program), not an across-the-board reduction of all fee categories. ⁵

6) Context: how Hilton ties this to a broader profitability program

The excerpts place Hilton Rise and loyalty-fee reductions inside a broader set of owner profitability actions. ⁴ Hilton mentions:

• More flexible, tailored renovation approach balancing owner investment with guest expectations and performance. ⁴
• A cross-functional review of hotel-level P&Ls to identify where Hilton’s scale technology and enterprise capabilities can drive incremental profitability, including opportunities in workforce innovation, purchasing power, and brand cost discipline. ⁴
• A technology/platform emphasis to innovate faster and reduce complexity. ⁴

This matters because it suggests Hilton views fee relief (loyalty/program discounts) as one element of a multi-pronged owner profitability strategy rather than a standalone program. ⁴¹

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Bottom line

Hilton’s owner profitability initiatives—reduced Hilton Honors loyalty fees and Hilton Rise (Project RISE)—are designed to improve owners’ economics by lowering program fee load and adding performance-based fee discounts tied to guest experience, with Hilton estimating a combined owner margin benefit of ~75 to 100 bps. ¹⁴ For owners, the key implication is that profitability improvements should come both from lower fees and from earning additional discounts by meeting rising service/experience standards through the Hilton Rise gating system (with roughly half of the U.S. system already benefiting fully today). ⁶⁴