Good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I'm Mike Bellisario, Senior Research Analyst at Baird. Today we have Hyatt Hotels with us, Joan Bottarini, Chief Financial Officer, and Adam Rohman, SVP, IR, Financial Planning and Analysis, and jack of all trades, too, I think. So, thank you for being here. A couple prepared remarks, and then, we could jump into questions, and, if anyone in the audience does have questions, you can email sessiontwo@rwbaird.com. Great. Thanks, Mike, and, you know, thanks for the invitation to the conference. This is a great conference. We've been here for several years now. So, and thank you everyone for joining and for your interest in Hyatt. Just a couple of slides that are posted to our website. Just for those of you who are unfamiliar with Hyatt, a global hospitality company, we've been in business for over 60 years, where we operate in 78 countries around the world. We have over 1,300 hotels, over 320,000 rooms, and a significant proportion, actually, an industry-leading proportion of hotels in our pipeline as a percentage of our existing base. So a long runway for growth for us. Growth across multiple dimensions here on this page, which shows how much we've grown across rooms, revenue, fee revenue, pipeline, our loyalty members, and really important to us, where we've arrived with our asset-light mix over the last six years. What to expect? So investment considerations for us, we've recently undertaken a transaction where we sold a majority interest in a Unlimited Vacation Club, which was part of our ALG acquisition that has really transformed and simplified our business model and recast our segments because of our asset-light arrival here at 76% at the end of 2023, and asset-light mix headed to 80% at the end of this year. It is really an important milestone for us, and we've recast our segments accordingly. Our growth strategy is focused on building network effect. We've delivered industry-leading net rooms growth for the last seven years, and frankly, this is something we are not only proud of, but it's our expectation to continue this because we are under-penetrated in almost every market around the world. And, you know, all of that is leading to significant levels, record levels for us, of free cash flow generation. And so, Mike, you'll probably ask about our capital allocation strategy, so I'll end there. Thank you. First, on fundamentals, lots of headlines about slowing leisure, weaker travel trends. Are you seeing it in the business, and what does the outlook for summer travel look like? Yeah, I think we... First of all, for those who are not familiar with us, a lot of our customers tend to be in higher income brackets, probably a little less susceptible to some of the higher inflation environment that we're in right now. So, we are seeing strong demand from our customers for really all purposes of travel. First quarter, we had great results. For leisure travel, we were up 6% globally. Our all-inclusive resorts saw net package RevPAR growth of 11%. Heading into the second quarter, pace was up 4% for our all-inclusive resorts. That was with Easter as a headwind, so encouraging results there. And as we look out to Fourth of July, we are seeing exceptionally strong pace for leisure travel. We're up double digits, especially in our resorts. So we are not seeing leisure travelers pulling back in our customer base, and whether it's Americans going to Europe for the multitude of special events this this summer, including the Olympics, the European Soccer Championships, and would be remiss not to mention Taylor Swift, we see our travelers continuing to prioritize experiences and staying with us. So we're really excited about the year to come. Are you seeing that same strength in the Caribbean, Latin America, and in Asia-Pacific, too? Yeah. You know, last year, there was a lot of talk about Cancun fatigue. We felt that it was probably temporary, more a function of people just rotating into some different destinations. This year, we're seeing good pace into Mexico and the Caribbean for all-inclusive. The Chinese traveler has been booming really since the lockdowns were lifted last year. And specifically, what we saw in the first quarter and what we're continuing to see is strong demand domestically, but also a lot of travel, whether it's intra-Asia, like, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, also starting to see growth into Europe as well. So, despite some of the headlines that probably everybody is seeing, our customer in China is very much valuing travel going forward. On the group side of the business, what does the outlook look like for the rest of the year into 2025? And then what about the forward indicators, the pace of bookings? Yeah. So for the balance of this year, our, our U.S. group pace is up, high single digits. For May and beyond, I think we feel really good about second and third quarter. Some of it's a function of the timing of different holidays in, in both quarters. Also, some, some good citywides, in, in the third quarter, which is not always typical. When we look out beyond this year, we've talked about pace for 2024 and 2025 is up, or for- yeah, for 2025 and 2026 is, up double digits in both years. I think we're seeing a lengthening, of the booking window. A lot of association groups who are booking four cities at a time, you know, think about a rotation like Orlando, Chicago, San Diego, New Orleans, getting that business on the books, which is great because it's shrinking the hotel, allowing us to compress rates, whether it's for leisure or individual business travel. So, we really saw small corporate groups come back first, easier to get those meetings on the books, and now we're seeing the larger association groups book quite a bit throughout, especially the U.S., and so we feel really good for group long term. On the capital allocation front, where are you at in the asset sales process? Then what's the plan with the cash from those asset sales, and now extra cash from a bond deal, too, just the other day ago? Right. So, maybe I'll start with the latter. The bond deal, successful execution yesterday, and we have a maturity, $750 million maturing in the fourth quarter of this year. So we intend to refinance, so we essentially refinance that, pay that down with the cash on hand now with that execution. And with respect to the asset sell-down program, we have the announcement that we made when we acquired ALG to sell down real estate in order to actually pay for parts of the acquisition, we have now, through the first quarter release, what we disclosed was $1.5 billion gross proceeds from asset sales since that announcement. So we have about $500 million to go, but we have a couple of sales that right now are in process, one of which is under contract, and the other in a marketing process. So we did mention that we expect to complete our commitment for sure. And while we anticipated to be 80% asset-light mix, earnings mix, we will actually achieve with these other transactions, should they close, well over 80% by the end of the year on a pro forma basis. So as far as additional ways in which we will use that cash, capital allocation priorities, I'll go back to our history and our history of execution. Over the course of what I was showing earlier on the slide, since 2017, when we announced our disposition program to unlock the value of our real estate, realized proceeds, one of our priorities has always been reinvesting for growth in the company into asset-light opportunities. And we've done that very successfully, sold assets at 15x-16x over the course of that period, $5 billion of assets, acquired $4 billion of asset-light opportunities at an 8x multiple, creating significant shareholder value with the redeployment of those proceeds. And then along the way, we've been returning capital to shareholders. I think we're at Almost $3 billion. $3 billion since that time period. So that has been our stated intent, capital allocation priorities. We've executed very successfully, and we intend to continue to do that into the future. In terms of bolt-on brand acquisitions or other M&A, what's the landscape look like today? Do more people call you now, knowing that you're closer to finishing your real estate sell-down program? Well, I would say, they call now, and they have been calling. So, we completed two acquisitions in 2023 and a portfolio deal in 2022, and all of those were off-market transactions, portfolio deals, that, going back to the network effect I was talking about, about our growth strategy, all of these are the criteria of what we look at when we look at M&A, which is that it is a complementary or adjacent customer base, so we can expand our existing high-quality World of Hyatt membership and welcome new members to the program. So customer-base dimension is one, and then an embedded opportunity for growth in each of the brands that we've acquired. So, those were off-market transactions, and, you know, I think Hyatt becomes a really attractive partner because of the high quality of our customer base and our capabilities that we've built here amongst all-inclusive, our growth in luxury, resort, and lifestyle properties over the course of the last five years, this exceptional growth that we've had. And we know as part of these conversations, you know, it's a fragmented marketplace with respect to brands. So we've done the data to look at which of those brands fit that profile, and we're in some conversations today, and so, we're excited that that will continue. On the topic of net unit growth, but also on the investment side, key money's been topical lately. Big picture, when do you invest Hyatt dollars? Why do you invest Hyatt dollars? And what's the competitive landscape look like for those, especially the higher-end deals, that seem to be fewer and fewer, going forward as there's no new supply out there on the luxury resort side? Sure. You know, if you look at it by market, it definitely differs by market, so U.S., highly competitive, low supply, particularly at the high end, so those deals get very competitive. You know, I would say second would be kind of Western European markets, where you know, there's very low supply there, too, especially in the upper upscale luxury segments. Outside of those markets, very little competition, as it relates to because of those markets and need for capital. You know, I think back to the question around the US, we underwrite every deal, and it's critical that deals are accretive when capital is required. You know, I think that that's like our internal discipline and rigor. I would just say that when you look at the capabilities that we've built and the growth that we've had in these segments, where there is a lot of activity with respect to conversions and high-end resorts, including all-inclusive, lifestyle properties, where some owners are making decisions to join a big brand system because they are finding now the economies of scale can benefit their brands. They're looking at, and us because we're differentiated. Again, back to the customer base, back to the World of Hyatt program and our existing base, and where we operate at the high end of each of the segments that we serve, that becomes, you know, very attractive, as we look at that competition for owners to have those conversations with us. The economics to you, you hope to not get repaid because the contract is very long-term, and it stays a Hyatt-branded hotel, and you make the money on the fees then from that management or franchise agreement, then that you acquire? Absolutely. You know, these luxury upper upscale hotels, you know, the management fees, again, negotiated by market, are high value because of the term of the contracts, highly durable is the expectation in this. You know, it's just a market dynamic there. But as you underwrite the deal, the value of the contract, any capital support that might be required, whether that's key money or otherwise, actually. And then, how do you think about the qualitative brand benefits with the halo benefit of having another Park Hyatt in a market that you didn't have before? Is that part of the underwriting, too, or is that just gravy on top? Certainly, strategic benefits relating to building out the luxury lifestyle resort portfolio and expanding in markets. I mentioned we're under-penetrated in every market around the world. We do have an excellent reputation and a big brand knowledge base. People recognize that Hyatt has a great service delivery and brand presence. So, you know, I think that helps us as we grow into different markets. And on the construction side for net unit growth, what are developers, owners asking for today? Where is the pressure point from them? And then, just how do you think about the trajectory of starts and signings over the next couple of years? Yeah, you know, we had seen some slowing in the past couple of years, and that was in relation to capital formation because banks were actually pulling back significantly, particularly for upper upscale and above. When you look at upscale and, you know, now we've entered the upper midscale segment, it is, it's more local regional banks that are still lending. So I think as the capital formation is becoming easier. It's not, I wouldn't say it's easy, but it's been getting better. That's a dynamic that will be helpful. You know, supply growth is at very low numbers right now relative to long-run averages, and that's part of the reason. You know, labor and cost of materials still is a factor. So, you know, I think that those dynamics have slowed a bit, the progression and advancement of the pipeline, but we're seeing it pick up more, and it's the same. Most of my comments just now were relative to the U.S. and interest rates there. Even as we look in places like China, we're also seeing that advancement take place now, where the starts are coming and that is coming off of the lockdowns, and now, you know, permitting is happening, labor is coming to the sites, and things are moving, which is really encouraging. Yeah. I, I think the one other thing to add is, especially from a U.S. standpoint, I think people have sort of taken a step back and realized that the interest rate environment that we lived in for, you know, 12-15 years was just not normal and not representative of what you would typically expect to see. And, and when you sit here today and look at the yield on, on the 10-year, it's probably actually lower than the long-run average going back to, you know, the early 1970s. So people have been able to get deals done before in a, in a more normalized interest rate and environment. I think people have realized that the fundamentals are too good to pass up, and to Joan's point, it's becoming less of a financing challenge and more of a just as inflation comes back to more normalized levels, that people are able to get shovels in the ground and get going. And especially when you think about a brand like Hyatt Studios, where the cost to build is a lot less, the overall cost of the loan is a lot lower. I think that's part of the reason why we're seeing such great developer interest in that brand specifically. That's where I was going to go next. The press release the other day, I think there were maybe eight, 10 new Hyatt Studios you listed in there. When do the first ones open, and what, what's the opportunity set, both in the U.S. and then globally for, for Hyatt Studios? Sure. We have a couple of shovels in the ground right now on a couple of projects, 3,000 in the pipeline and 3,000 rooms in the pipeline, and 250 hotels under discussion with developers, and, you know, these are advanced discussions with developers. There's a great level of interest in this brand, and part of that is because of what exactly we expected when we actually entered this category. New for us, and adjacent to our upscale brands, upper midscale. We did some data research, and we recognized that our World of Hyatt members, when they weren't staying with us, it was because we didn't have a Hyatt within 5 mi of where they were staying. And so that category actually is important to our World of Hyatt members. They were going for their daughter's soccer tournament, you know, in a local market that we weren't there for them. So the data proves that we can expand our engagement with our existing members, and then entering into a new category where we will be welcoming new members into the Hyatt system. So we sat down with developers and literally at the table with developers and said, "Okay, we want to enter this segment," and asked for their opinion about and worked with them actually to develop the brand. So the developers told us they want it to be flexible. Yes, it's an extended stay product, but developers are able to have that product accommodate the local market needs. So maybe some hotels are half extended stay, half transient. So we've created something with developers, which is why there is such great developer interest and of course, you know, very much important to the returns that we expect to generate. And because we are underpenetrated in so many of these markets, and particularly at this price point, there's a recognition that, you know, you'll have the first Hyatt hotel as opposed to the tenth competitor hotel, tapping into the World of Hyatt membership network and, you know, being able to ramp up just very quickly. You mentioned World of Hyatt a couple of times. I think you mentioned credit card, too. What are customers asking for, and what are you seeing from their spending behaviors once that person signs up for a credit card? And then the second part of that is, what's the upside as you leverage the platform with the credit card and all these non-RevPAR fees that all you and your peers are talking about now more? Yeah, I mean, there is great opportunity from here. We have quadrupled the size of the World of Hyatt membership base, and they're a highly engaged group of members. And as we look at what we do going forward, you know, we will do a lot of the same of what we've done today, which is invest in the program. We have taken the opportunity to make investments in the program for our guests, and that is, you know, pure benefits, benefits that we provide. But it's also increasing their opportunities to stay with us. So when we acquired Mr & Mrs Smith, that was a phenomenal opportunity for us to, you know, acquire this distribution platform and then plug in our World of Hyatt system into 700 out of the 2,000 hotels that they have today. You know, presto chango, we've already, we've got distribution now in so many European markets that we didn't have previously. So, this was, this is, this is the asset-light growth, the network effect showing up, and then, you know, really providing that proposition, that value proposition to members and frankly, to owners, because they see us actually deepening the engagement with our members. That's a highly qualified and attractive base, and it continues, you know, the flywheel. With respect to the co-branded card, we have entered into the co-branded card space in the 2000s-early 2010-ish. And, you know, so we have a younger card. It's up for renewal. We have the highly qualified base I was telling you about, and the points, our points are very, very highly valued. So, you know, we have some opportunity here as we think about what we do next with the card, which will be—we'll keep you posted in the coming quarters as we get to a deal. And there's opportunity for us, too, that we're evaluating sort of outside the U.S., you know, different product types that we would be able to enter into. So I think there's great opportunity to go forward. On the credit card economics, you get paid every time someone swipes a co-branded card. How much of that spend is actually on hotels versus food and gas and other non-hotel things? I don't, I don't have that data in front of me, but, but we're earning, we're earning royalties, right, off of, off of the spend that is generated- It's primarily spend-based, right? Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. Then where is World of Hyatt in terms of penetration today, contribution? Where do you think it can go as you leverage the platform over the next 3-5 years? Yeah, I mean, it's been growing, especially as the membership base has grown over the last handful of years. Our membership base is up 22%, through the first quarter of this year. You know, I think where we have opportunities for our loyalty penetration comes with brands like Studios, where it's a more, you know, you're not gonna have a group customer in there. You have a higher ceiling to be able to drive more loyalty. I think when you sort of take a step back and think about it more through the lens of direct channel contribution, you know, we're probably 400 basis points below our largest peers, who are, in some cases, 8x or 10x larger than us. So when you put all the pieces together, whether it's our Hyatt sales force, whether it's our loyalty, membership base, we don't really see a large difference between what we can contribute direct, relative to our larger peers. So, I think our focus is continuing to grow our World of Hyatt membership, continuing to grow the penetration that we get from those members, and that will benefit really our owners. It will benefit us, obviously. And as we continue to grow and look for great opportunities, our guests will continue to want to engage and interact. And I think the one thing to tag onto what Joan said about Mr & Mrs Smith, if you think about what we did, we went from a membership standpoint, we went from having 1,300 plus hotels to over 2,000 in, you know, overnight, literally, by just engaging 700 hotels instantaneously when we brought them into the World of Hyatt platform. We've seen an incredible amount of engagement from our loyalty members into Mr & Mrs Smith, not for not redeeming points for stays, but actually paying and booking into those hotels because they're so unique, they're so differentiated. Their average rate is $500, so very much in line with the brand portfolio that we have. So we'll continue to look for opportunities to provide differentiated ways for our our members to engage with us, and we think that will ultimately drive greater penetration over time. On Mr & Mrs Smith, those hotels that are in the program, they don't have a franchise agreement. What's the longer-term opportunity for you to bring those in and make them a Hyatt-branded hotel and actually earn even more fees from them? You know, there is a great opportunity to continue to evaluate that. You know, I think that that's what you've seen, as you've seen higher levels of conversion across the industry. Part of that is because of the desire, as I mentioned before, economies of scale. You're an independent owner and operator, and you see that joining a brand company can provide lower levels of distribution and/or, you know, sort of the back office, if you will, economies of scale. So, you know, I think that that dynamic is certainly true for these types of hotels as well, and one of the things that we've proven through our multiple acquisitions, like Two Roads and like Dream Hotel Group, is that we do it differently, where we have a... When we welcome and convert hotels into the portfolio, the understanding that, you know, the ethos of the brand or, you know, how owners want to actually present their hotel and is really important. You're not just joining a system and becoming, you know, like all the other hotels in the system, and that is critical when we think about a curated portfolio like Mr & Mrs Smith. So, we think we've demonstrated a track record here of where it's some cases, some of these lifestyle owners have said, "I don't want to join a big brand portfolio," for that very reason, and we've sort of dispelled that myth in the way that we've brought in lifestyle and luxury hotels into our system. So I think with Mr & Mrs Smith, that same opportunity and that same sort of attraction to our brands will provide opportunities in the future to have franchise agreements. Are those owners of the Mr & Mrs Smith properties Hyatt franchisees today? They are not. Okay. In fact, I think we may have a handful on the system or being qualified for the system. The 700 hotels across Mr & Mrs Smith, the average size of the hotel is 42 rooms. So, you know, there are some that are 100 rooms, et cetera, and our ability to franchise will be the subset that has, you know, probably a little bit more scale. But certainly an exciting opportunity for us, and I think we will be able to continue to demonstrate how we're differentiated for them. Got it. Last topic, just on UVC, the transaction there, the moving pieces in the model. You know, what is maybe the public market still missing, not fully understanding about the Hyatt story today? There's a lot there. I think first off- You have 41 seconds. I have 40-41 seconds to redo the model for all of you. No, I think there's a couple things. One, look, we recognize going into the ALG deal that Mr.... that UVC presented- was going to present, was going to be different, right? And some of it, a lot of it was related to the accounting under US GAAP, and that that was not going to be reflected in the cash flow that we would receive from the business. So we undertook this opportunity late, middle of last year, to look for a potential partner, that had the same, desire to grow the business the way that we could, and structure it in a way where we could generate economics, through fees rather than the way we were doing it before. So you have to remember, it was running an EBITDA loss of approximately $54 million. You can get the quarterly, revenue and cost breakdown from the 8-K that we filed on, April 25th of this year. But ultimately, we value the UVC business. It's exceptionally important to our all-inclusive business. We've turned it into a full fee, that is nearly 100% free cash flow, and has an opportunity to grow significantly over time, and ultimately simplifies our story and will make us, that much easier to understand and appreciate and, will help our valuation going forward. Sounds good. Thank you for the time. Appreciate it. Yeah, thanks. Thank you. Next, here we have Pool Corporation. Session one is Williams-Sonoma, Paycor, session three, Varonis Systems, session four, PROS Holdings, session five, and thank you all s-