Q2 REVIEW
MARRIOTT BETS ON CONVERSIONS , stronger international travel to fuel performance
CEO AND CFO TOUT REOPENING OF INBOUND CHINA TRAVEL AS IMPORTANT STEP .
By DAVID EISEN
Another successful quarter for Marriott International and an expected “ soft landing ” for the U . S . economy , according to company CFO and EVP of Development Leeny Oberg , has the Bethesda , Md . -based operator and franchisor bullish on the future , one it hopes will include further performance improvement internationally .
Global RevPAR increased 13.5 % in the second quarter versus the same time a year ago , with a 39.1 % increase in international markets . The RevPAR bounce helped grow net income to $ 726 million in the quarter , a 7 % bump over Q2 2022 .
On the development front , Marriott added approximately 33,100 rooms globally during the quarter , including 17,300 rooms associated with the City Express transaction and roughly 11,200 other rooms in international markets . Marriott also added more than 2,800 conversion rooms , which , according to Oberg and President and CEO Tony Capuano will likely be the mode of growth over the foreseeable future or until there is more clarity vis-à-vis lending for new hotel construction .
A DEVELOPING SITUATION In the first half of 2023 , 21 % of Marriott rooms additions came via conversion , according to Capuano . “ Conversions are big ,” Oberg said . “ We are not seeing
18 hotelsmag . com September 2023