Marriott announces strong global growth
Marriott International, Inc. has announced another year of strong global growth, with a record 123,000 gross rooms openings, net rooms growth of 6.8% for the full year 2024, and over 577,000 rooms in the company’s development pipeline at year-end. Marriott continued to expand its product offerings across travel purposes and segments – from affordable midscale to luxury.
Celebrations
“2024 was a year of incredible growth for Marriott, as we celebrated regional milestones, segment entries, brand expansions, market debuts, and more,” said Anthony Capuano, President and CEO, Marriott International. “As we maintain our focus on the company’s purpose of connecting people through the power of travel, I couldn’t be more excited about the work our global teams are doing to drive growth and innovation, create best-in-class experiences for our guests, and deliver strong results for our owners and franchisees.”
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In 2024, the company signed a record of over 1,200 deals with owners, franchisees and developers — an average of over 3 deals a day — representing nearly 162,000 rooms globally. Leveraging the company’s strong revenue engines, leading affiliation costs, and robust portfolio of soft brands and conversion-friendly brands across segments, Marriott continued to have real momentum around conversions, with 34% of 2024 rooms signings resulting from conversion opportunities.
“We are thrilled to continue our innovation journey with world-class owners, franchisees, and developers to meet the needs of every traveler and trip purpose,” said Leeny Oberg, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Development. “As we continue expanding and enhancing offerings for our development stakeholders and guests, we are immensely proud of the breadth and depth of our industry-leading portfolio that delivers new travel opportunities around the world.”
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Marriott’s luxury portfolio of seven brands now comprises 658 hotels, resorts and branded residential properties, spanning 74 countries and territories. In 2024, the company signed a record number of 61 deals for luxury hotels and resorts, closing the year with 266 in the pipeline. W Hotels expanded its global footprint and experienced robust portfolio growth, seeing significant momentum in its ongoing evolution in 2024, including celebrating the highly anticipated opening of W Prague, and the unveiling of the reimagined W Hollywood and W Union Square in New York. St. Regis opened its 60th hotel worldwide, with the opening of The St. Regis on the Bund, Shanghai in October 2024. The Luxury Collection announced the opening of Koenigshof, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Munich, marking the brand’s entry in Germany. EDITION debuted in Saudi Arabia with The Jeddah EDITION. The recently announced JW Marriott Crete Resort and Spa is anticipated to open in 2025, marking the brand’s debut in Greece. The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection launched Ilma, its second superyacht, on its inaugural voyage through the Mediterranean, with its third vessel, Luminara, anticipated to embark on its inaugural voyage in the summer of 2025 with itineraries in the Mediterranean and Asia.
Following its entry into the segment, Marriott strengthened its presence in affordable midscale in 2024, focusing on offering regionally relevant lodging options for every trip purpose. Fueled by strong owner and consumer interest, City Express by Marriott is now anticipated to expand into Nicaragua, Bolivia, Argentina, and Peru, with plans to also expand into Brazil. In October 2024, the company announced this conversion-friendly brand’s planned debut in the U.S. and Canada, marking Marriott’s introduction of a transient midscale offering in the region. The brand currently has 153 open properties (17,777 rooms), with 53 in the pipeline (5,673 rooms). StudioRes, an extended stay midscale brand in the U.S. and Canada, celebrated its first groundbreaking last January and closed 2024 with 35 properties (4,037 total rooms) in the pipeline, anticipating its first opening later this year. Four Points Flex by Sheraton, a conversion-friendly midscale brand in Marriott’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific excluding China (APEC) regions, celebrated numerous additions and signings, closing the year with 28 open properties (5,037 rooms) and 33 in the pipeline (4,003 rooms).
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As the largest branded residences company globally, Marriott is entering its 25th year in the segment, continuing to see exciting momentum and portfolio growth. The company has grown its open portfolio by over 50% since year-end 2019, closing 2024 with 142 open residential locations and a pipeline of 138 locations (28% of which are standalone projects) across 16 distinct brands. In 2024, the Marriott Branded Residences portfolio generated $2.1B in residential sales revenue for third-party developers, nearly double the previous year’s total.
Recently signed and upcoming portfolio highlights include: the Westin Residences Gurugram, slated to be the largest branded residences in India and the company’s first branded standalone residences in the country; The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Boston, South Station Tower, a standalone property expected to transform Boston’s skyline; the Almare, a Luxury Collection Residence, an all-inclusive co-located property in Isla Mujeres, a coveted luxury destination; and The St. Regis Residences, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi, which celebrated a signing ceremony in December 2024.
In the past year, Marriott continued to enhance its offerings by exploring segments outside of traditional hospitality offerings. In December 2024, Marriott announced the expansion of its outdoor-focused lodging offerings through two founding deals with key players in the outdoor lodging segment. The deals include the acquisition of the Postcard Cabins brand, formerly known as Getaway Outposts, and the execution of a long-term agreement with Trailborn. With plans to launch an outdoor-focused collection this year, the company aims to offer guests and Marriott Bonvoy members more choice in traditional and alternative accommodations in nature-forward destinations. Separately, as owner and consumer interest in apartment-style accommodations continues to grow, Marriott announced a long-term licensing agreement with Sonder Holdings in August 2024. Adding over 9,000 rooms to Marriott’s open portfolio and approximately 1,700 rooms to its development pipeline at year-end, this agreement underscores the company’s growing presence in this high-demand segment.