Marriott’s Premium Brands Are Driving Results. Now It’s Adding Midscale Hotels.
Photo Caption: JW Marriott Goa's pool. Source: Marriott International.
Skift Take
Marriott's hotels are nearly all premium or better. The customers who can afford them have mostly been insulated from budget worries. So why is the company's strategy to attract more price-conscious guests?
One under-recognized reason Marriott International raised its 2023 outlook for profitability on Tuesday was that its hotels are nearly all premium or better.
The vacationers, road warriors, and group meeting planners who can afford its properties were relatively insulated from economic concerns in the past year compared to the population as a whole.
So it's counterintuitive that the hotelier's strategy is to expand its share of more affordable hotels — which presumably would expose it to more swings in demand.
Marriott's Robust QuarterThe world's largest hotelier reported strong second-quarter performance.
The Bethesda, Maryland-based company boosted its net income 7% to $726 million from a year earlier. It raised its full-year forecast for net income to at least $2.63 billion. Its revenue rose about 16% to approximately $1.6 billion after deducting the revenue it collected and passed back to its managed and franchised properties.The company saw operational strength across its portfolio.
Marriott's revenue per available room — a key industry figure — rose 13.5% from a year earlier. The company boosted its average worldwide pricing by 6% year-over-
