A first meeting with the financial community since the beginning of 2019. At the end of September, Marriott organised a gathering of investors and analysts at W South Beach in Miami, giving its executives the opportunity to demonstrate that their group had lost none of its strength or drive despite the pandemic. Its CEO, Anthony Capuano, praised the hotel portfolio, which grew by almost 15 % during the period, and the return of revenue per room - or RevPAR - to pre-crisis levels in just two years.
The various presentations highlighted the solid fundamentals of the the world's leading group with its 8,500 hotels and one and a half million rooms. With 177 million members of the Marriott Bonvoy programme by the end of 2022, the American hotelier was also pleased to show that it was collecting much higher royalties per room from hotel owners than its competitors. All the more reason to keep up the solid momentum.
In view of the growth prospects for the travel industry - +5.8% per year according to the WTTC - Anthony Capuano sees many reasons to be ". optimistic "This is a very positive outlook for Marriott. The growth rate of its revenue per room is expected to oscillate between 3% and 6 % in both 2024 and 2025, after an increase from 12% to 14 % expected this year.
This growth will be underpinned by the leisure segment, but also by business travel, which is slower to pick up - particularly where large companies are concerned - but which should pick up again according to travel managers' forecasts for spending growth in 2024. As far as business travel is concerned, Marriott's CEO is also looking with interest at the strengthening of the 'bleisure' trend. " It's good for businesssaid Tony Capuano. The number of corporate travellers who come on Wednesdays and Thursdays and stay the following days has grown by 18% recently, compared to 2019." .
In parallel with the positive trend in its revenues, Marriott is focusing on a new growth path which will follow three paths: offering the best brands and the best experiences, building loyalty among more and more travellers and, lastly, providing them with the broadest offer by being present in more places around the world.
In this context, the Marriott group's offer should be further enhanced between 230,000 and 270,000 rooms by the end of 2025, in particular through the conversion of existing hotels such as the MGM casino resortsIn addition, Marriott is taking advantage of a number of brands dedicated to this model, such as Autograph Collection and Tribute Portfolio. All in all, Marriott expects net growth in its hotel portfolio of around 5%, which will bring the group close to 1.8 million rooms.
Leader in luxury, Marriott turns its attention to the mid-range
With all these developments in the pipeline, Marriott intends to maintain its position as one of the world's leading hotel chains. the undisputed leader in luxury and premium hotels with almost 500 hotels worldwide, around 1.5 times the size of its nearest competitor, for a market share of 17 % of the market in this segment. " While our competitors are still working on building their portfolio of luxury hotels, Marriott has been leading the competition for a long time." said Tina Edmundson, President of the Group's Luxury Goods division.
This clear lead is not about to diminish, with 225 luxury and premium hotels in the pipeline, particularly in the APAC region. This development is underpinned by strong demand, with the number of millionaires on the rise worldwide. In fact, according to analyst STR, quoted by Tina Edmundson, " demand for luxury hotels is expected to outstrip supply by a factor of three between 2023 and 2025" .
However, Marriott's desire for power will also be expressed on another front, the mid-range. A more resilient segment in times of crisis, as demonstrated by the latest pandemic, the mid-range segment is also experiencing growing demand, particularly in the domestic market. Hence the launch of new brands to capture this clientele with the long stay brand. Studiores in the United States and City Express by Marriott in Latin America, following the acquisition of Mexican group City Express.
The hotelier will now apply the same strategy in the EMEA region with the announcement of a new brand: Four Points Express by Sheraton. " Entering the mid-range segment strengthens our position in this market and increases the number of possible relationships with ownerssaid Carlton Ervin, Managing Director of International Development at Marriott. " After City Express in Latin America, Four Points Express by Sheraton provides us with a growth base to accelerate our development in Europe. All that remains is to have the same vehicle in the Asia-Pacific region, which may be the case one day. The mid-range is a new focus for our development, even if we continue to grow in the same way as before" says Carlton Ervin.
The American group now has 30 brands, several of which, like these new mid-range brands, did not exist in 2019. To these can be added the foray of Marriott for extended stays AirBnb with the launch of Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy and Home & Villas. " This has enabled us to extend our offer, particularly in areas where we did not have any hotels.Peggy Roe. Chief Customer Officer of the American group. Reaching out to all these new customers gives us new sources of customers to feed our loyalty programme, which is at the heart of our strategy." .
As members of the programme generate the majority of overnight stays in hotels, this is one of the reasons why owners choose the group's brands. In fact, 75% of the bookings of the millions of members live, on the Marriott website or the Bonvoy appThis compares with 15% via GDSs and 12% via OTAs. In this context, Marriott has also embarked on a digital transformation that will run for several years to upgrade its reservation, hotel management and loyalty platform systems. " We started work on this new platform this year and will continue throughout 2024, with a view to implementing it in 2025. However, some attractive benefits should arrive before then" said Drew Pinto, Managing Director of Technology and Revenue at Marriott.
So, probably early next year, customers will be able to ask the booking site to find them a hotel to their liking, with a Michelin-starred restaurant and a multi-award-winning spa, for example. It will also soon be possible to select rooms with specific facilities such as rooms with a terrace or sea view. As developments continue, customers should also be able to reserve a table directly at the restauranta spa treatment or a beach hut. " For Bonvoy members, we are planning to add benefits such as upgrades confirmed on booking or notification of a free upgrade." explains Drew Pinto. Artificial intelligence at the service of travellers.
