The adage that the big gets bigger is definitely true in the hotel industry where Marriott’s moment in the sun became glaringly apparent last year. Marriott recently announced that in 2018, the company signed management and franchise agreements for 816 properties, comprised of 125,000 rooms, while opening nearly 500 properties comprised of more than 80,000 rooms around the world across its portfolio of 30 brands. To put that into perspective, currently Hyatt’ portfolio includes more than 750 properties in more than 55 countries across their 14 brands. In other words, last year alone, Marriott signed more hotels than in the entire Hyatt chain.
If that wasn’t enough to impress you. As of December 31, 2018, Marriott’s global footprint grew to more than 6,900 properties and more than 1.3 million rooms in 130 countries and territories, with Marriott brands making their debut in Finland, New Zealand, Lithuania, Mali and Ukraine. The pipeline also grew to a record 478,000 rooms.
The year also delivered a new record for organic international room signings in Europe and Middle East and Africa, and for organic hotel signings in Asia Pacific, delivering a source of future growth in destinations where international travel is surging, and residents are increasingly joining Marriott’s unified loyalty program.
The company also reported that it signed 29 luxury properties consisting of 6,200 rooms across six brands. According to the latest STR data, Marriott’s luxury pipeline is larger than its next three competitors combined.
As well the new Marriott Bonvoy rewards program which combines Marriott, SPG and Ritz Carlton’s programs, has over 120 million members across the globe. Clearly Marriott’s moment in the sun was impressive last year and it doesn’t look like this growth streak is going to set anytime soon.
