it expected negative RevPAR growth in China for the rest of the year .
“ We expect a continuation of current weak demand and pricing trends in the region , with a third quarter anticipated to see the most meaningful RevPAR decline , as outbound travel accelerates during summer holidays ,” said Leeny Oberg , CFO and EVP of development for Marriott International . “ The impact of the change in our outlook for Greater China has a disproportionate impact .”
Marriott performance beyond China was solid . RevPAR globally in the second quarter rose nearly 5 %, average daily rate increased around 3 % and occupancy reached 73 %, up about 150 basis points compared to the same time last year . RevPAR in the U . S and Canada was up around 4 % YOY , while Asia Pacific , minus Mainland China , showed strong RevPAR growth at 13 %, led by Japan , where the “ Land of the Rising Sun ” saw its RevPAR rise 21 % YOY .
Group business continues to be a standout for Marriott and the collective hotel industry . It comprised 24 % of worldwide room nights in the second quarter for Marriott and “ remains the strongest customer segment ,” Capuano said , but did note the expectation for softness in group business in the fourth quarter due to the Presidential election . “ We knew there was an election this year and what we ’ ve seen is historical softness . But when you look back over prior election cycles , we tended to see a little bit of group
Host Hotels & Resorts acquired the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu , Hawaii , from Blacsktone in May and tapped Marriott International to manage it as The Ritz-Carlton O ’ ahu , Turtle Bay .
softness the week of the election . Given the unique attributes of this election cycle , we ’ re seeing that bleed into the week after the election , as well .”
Leisure transient , which accounted for 43 % of worldwide room nights in the quarter , posted a 2 % rise in RevPAR . Meanwhile , within the business transient segment , demand from small- to mediumsized corporates now accounts for nearly 55 % of business transient room nights . Earlier this month , Marriott introduced Business Access by Marriott Bonvoy , an online travel booking program designed specifically as a direct channel for small to medium-sized businesses . Capuano added that Marriott ’ s loyalty program Bonvoy now had more than 210 million members as of the end of June , aided , he said , by partnerships with the likes of Rakuten , Alibaba and Rappi . He called Marriott ’ s new collaboration with Starbucks “ the
WE ARE NOW SEEING NEED TO DEPLOY KEY MONEY INTO LOWER-QUALITY TIERS
– TONY CAPUANO , PRESIDENT AND CEO , MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL latest example of how we ’ re connecting our members with people , places and passions that they truly love .”
FAIRLY DEVELOPED Marriott added approximately 15,500 net rooms to end the second quarter , expanding its worldwide room count to around 1.6 million rooms . Despite China ’ s torpid performance , Marriott recorded what it called record signings in APAC and Greater China for the first half of the year that led to a pipeline of almost 560,000 rooms globally . Capuano said the expectation for net rooms growth for full-year 2024 is 5.5 % to 6 %. “ It ’ s really about the longterm prospects in China ,” where , he said , Marriott signed 63 selects-service deals in the first half of the year with half of those expected to open within 12 months . “ As we look at the pace , we asked the question , ‘ Are we stacking paper or are we signing deals that are going to materialize as openings ?’ The pace of construction is really encouraging .”
Still-elevated interest rates that have made the cost of capital high and new construction challenging have forced lodging companies to focus on conversions for growth . In the second quarter , conversions represented 37 % of Marriott ’ s openings and 32 % of signings . In June , Marriott signed three luxury conversion
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