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STRENGTHENING PERFORMANCE IN TARGETED FEEDER MARKETS FROM EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND BRAZIL REMAINS A PRIORITY
– RAFAEL NADER, AREA
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DIRECTOR OF SALES &
MARKETING, NEW YORK,
STARWOOD HOTELS
A guestroom at Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo.
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had a presence. Right now, he said, more than half of the opportunities for those brands are in markets without an existing Hyatt flag.
Rafael Nader, area director of sales and marketing, New York for Starwood Hotels, which operates 1 Hotels, Baccarat Hotels and Treehouse Hotels, is focused on increasing“ share of wallet” in several high-potential international regions. While most of the company’ s business is in the U. S., he said, New York luxury hotels rely on a few key international markets, particularly Europe, the Middle East and Brazil. Strengthening performance in these targeted feeder markets remains a priority. Supply growth will remain modest, said Chambers, driven more by conversions than by new builds. Lower interest rates will help transactions pick up as bid-ask spreads narrow, he said,
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CONVERSIONS CONTINUE TO ENABLE INCREDIBLE EXPANSION ACROSS BRAND TIERS AND SEGMENTS
– SHAWN HILL, EVP & CDO,
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL
and the industry should see a boost to transaction volume in the second half of 2026.
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Shawn Hill, EVP & CDO for Marriott International, said that the company anticipates several key development trends that will shape the year’ s hospitality landscape: continued luxury and midscale development, locally designed and curated collection brands and nature-focused travel and resorts.
One of Marriott’ s most powerful growth engines is conversions,“ which continue to enable incredible expansion across brand tiers and segments,” Hill said. The company, he said, is seeing this momentum most notably in its midscale and collection brand portfolios.
Luxury development, said Hill, remains a cornerstone of Marriott’ s growth strategy, with momentum expected to continue this year, especially in the Asia- Pacific and EMEA regions.
WHAT’ S UP? WHAT’ S DOWN? As is typical, the outlook varies depending on the chain scale. Luxury and ultra-luxury travel are holding up, said Nicholas. Some corporate segments are traveling more and there is optimism for business travel next year with the traditional Tuesday / Wednesday stay coming back.
“ Everyone is trying to group up,” said Bellisario,“ whatever the size of the event.” He added there are more promotions, more discounts, more use of OTAs and more Costco and Chase travel.“ Everyone is trying to cast a wider net,” he said.
“ We have momentum on a number of fronts,” said Hansen.
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12 hotelsmag. com Jan / Feb 2026 |