Marriott International has expressed confidence for its 2025 full-year performance, despite global economic headwinds, following a strong first quarter performance.
Over the course of the first three months of the year, Marriott saw its RevPAR (revenue per available room; a key growth metric for hotels) increase by over 4%, globally.
The group generated a first quarter profit of $665m and added around 12,200 net rooms to its portfolio and finished the quarter with a worldwide development pipeline of approximately 3,800 properties and over 587,000 rooms – up by 7.4% year-on-year.
Anthony Capuano, President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “The combination of continued travel demand, the strength of our brands and our fee driven business model drove strong financial results in the first quarter. Despite heightened macro-economic uncertainty, global RevPAR rose over 4 percent, primarily driven by higher ADR, and our development momentum remained positive. Our international markets experienced particularly robust growth, with RevPAR increasing nearly 6 percent, led by double-digit gains in APEC. RevPAR in the U.S. & Canada rose over 3 percent in the first quarter, although we did see slower growth in March.
“The strong momentum in our development activity continued, with record first quarter signings of over 34,000 rooms, of which two-thirds were in international markets. Conversions remained a key driver of growth, representing around a third of our room signings and openings.
“We are committed to growing our global portfolio and enhancing offerings for our guests, Marriott Bonvoy members and hotel owners. Last week, we announced that we have reached an agreement to acquire the citizenM brand, an innovative lifestyle lodging offering in the select-service segment. We are excited about the global growth prospects for this brand, given the unique and differentiated nature of the offering and our successful track record with other acquired brands like AC Hotels. Our net rooms growth outlook remains strong, and we now expect our full year 2025 net rooms growth to approach 5 percent, assuming the purchase closes before year end.
“We remain focused on expanding our industry-leading Marriott Bonvoy travel platform and loyalty program membership and on deepening engagement through numerous unique experiences and collaborations. By the end of March, our loyalty programme membership base had grown to nearly 237 million members worldwide.
“Despite uncertainty about the macro-economic outlook, we are confident that the power of our industry-leading global portfolio, the strength of our Marriott Bonvoy travel platform and loyalty programme, our dedicated associates, and resilient asset-light business model, position us very well for sustainable, long-term growth.”
