- Raises guidance for 2023
- Adds 11,000 rooms globally
- 200,000 rooms in the pipeline
The world’s biggest hotels chain Marriott International (MAR:NASDAQ) raised its full year guidance after it reported positive first quarter results lifted by ‘robust booking trends.’
Marriott shares were up over 4% to $177 on the news.
The US-listed hotels chain reported net income of $757 million compared to reported net income of $377 million in the same quarter a year earlier.
Chief executive Anthony Capuano said: ‘While the global economic picture is uncertain, demand remains strong, and we are not seeing signs of a slowdown. With the faster than expected recovery in international markets and continued solid booking trends globally to date in the second quarter, we are raising our RevPAR guidance for the full year.
‘We believe our broad portfolio of brands, award-winning Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, dedicated associates, and efficient asset-light business model position us very well for future growth.’
First quarter 2023 comparable system-wide constant dollar revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased 34.3% worldwide, 25.6% in the US and Canada, and 63.1% in international markets, compared to the 2022 first quarter.
Reported diluted earnings per share totalled $2.43 in the quarter, compared to reported diluted EPS of $1.14 in the year-ago quarter.
Marriott also announced that it repurchased 6.8 million shares of its own stock for $1.1 billion during the first quarter. Year-to-date through to 28 April, the company has returned $1.5 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.
MORE HOTEL ROOMS
The company manages hotels under such brands as the Sheraton, Westin, the Ritz-Carlton, Gaylord Hotels, Design Hotels and Le Meridien.
Marriott added approximately 11,000 rooms globally during the first quarter, including roughly 5,800 rooms in international markets and more than 2,700 conversion rooms.
At the end of the quarter, Marriott's worldwide development pipeline totalled more than 3,050 properties and approximately 502,000 rooms, including more than 21,000 rooms approved, but not yet subject to signed contracts.
Roughly 200,000 rooms in the pipeline were under construction as of the end of the first quarter.
ANALYST UPBEAT
Dan Wasiolek, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, said in a recent note: ‘While inflation has potential to impact near-term travel demand, we expect Marriott to expand room and revenue share in the hotel industry over the next decade.
‘Our constructive stance is driven by a favourable next-generation traveller position supported by renovated and newer brands, as Marriott has added several new brands since 2007 and renovated a meaningful percentage of core Marriott and Courtyard hotels in the past few years.
‘Also, we see Marriott having an industry-leading loyalty program, with 177 million members (as of fiscal 2022), which incentivises third-party hotel owners to join the company's brands.’
