Executives at Marriott International have presented a three-year growth plan to institutional investors and security analysts under which is says it plans to open more than 1,700 new hotels – totalling up to 295,000 rooms – around the world by 2021.
The plan, presented at the New York Marriott Marquis, was backed by the company’s already-strong 478,000-room pipeline, of which 214,000 rooms are understood to be actively under construction.
Over the three-year plan, fee revenues from these new rooms could add US$400 million to the company’s bottom line, increasing to US$700 million once all hotels are open and stabilised in their respective markets. Cash returned to shareholders could amount up to US$11 billion by the end of the 2021 forward planning period.
Marriott International CEO, Arne Sorenson, said the Marriott Bonvoy program was setting company records previously unseen, with around 50,000 new members signing up every day and comprising a database of 125 million members by the end of 2018.
“Starwood has made us a more formidable competitor, providing a more valuable loyalty program, brands with strong appeal to loyalty members and owners, talented associates, terrific locations, particularly in the fast-growing Asia Pacific region, significant cost synergies and meaningful scale,” Sorenson told investors.
In his presentation, Sorenson said 70 per cent of Marriott’s ownership group held more than one Marriott property in their portfolios, with around one-third holding ten or more of the company’s hotels.