SPECIAL REPORT
THE GLOBAL HOTEL INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO THRIVE OPERATIONALLY , BUT THE IMPACT FROM GLOBAL FISCAL POLICIES AND THE OVERALL MACRO- ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT HAVE KEPT GROWTH IN CHECK . STILL , HOTEL COMPANIES ARE FINDING WAYS TO INCREASE THEIR FOOTPRINTS .
It ’ s here : The List , HOTELS ’ global survey of the top hotel companies in the world , ranked by total number of rooms in operation , as of December 31 , 2022 . The ranking survey is a 100 % voluntary exercise , with HOTELS opening submissions to global hospitality operating platforms .
The top of this year ’ s list looks similar to last year ’ s , with Marriott International commanding the top spot with just shy of 1.5 million rooms worldwide , representing growth of 44,591 rooms from 2021 to 2022 . China ’ s Jin Jiang remains on Marriott ’ s heels ( it by far has the most hotels worldwide ), with its overall key count between 2021 and 2022 rising by 27,700 .
One of this year ’ s biggest climbers was Sonesta International Hotels , which jumped into the 22nd slot up from 40th the previous year and driven by a steady accretion of rooms under parent company SVC . Its sum of 94,352 rooms is more than
51,000 higher than its 2021 count .
There is certainly a headwind to new construction : interest rate hikes , which make it more difficult to finance new projects and have stymied transactions . Still , hotel companies are finding ways to grow , namely through conversions , which franchisors have embraced .
The complete list of some 200 companies follows on the subsequent pages . HOTELS thanks all for participating .
36 hotelsmag . com Jul / Aug 2023