Marriott International has announced that it has achieved record number of openings in a single year. The company closed 2024 with over 9,300 properties across 144 countries and territories.
Marriott’s new record
Marriott has announced another year of strong growth worldwide, with a record 1,23,000 gross rooms openings, net rooms growth of 6.8% for the full year 2024, and over 5,77,000 rooms in the company’s development pipeline at year-end.
In 2024, the company signed a record of over 1,200 deals with owners, franchisees and developers -an average of over 3 deals a day – representing nearly 162,000 rooms globally. Conversion signings (existing properties refurbished and branded as a Marriott) represented 34% of total signings.
2024 was a year of incredible growth for Marriott, as we celebrated regional milestones, segment entries, brand expansions, market debuts, and more. As we maintain our focus on the company’s purpose of connecting people through the power of travel, I couldn’t be more excited about the work our global teams are doing to drive growth and innovation, create best-in-class experiences for our guests, and deliver strong results for our owners and franchisees.
Anthony Capuano, President and CEO, Marriott International said.
Luxury segment
Marriott’s luxury portfolio of seven brands now comprises 658 hotels, resorts and branded residential properties, spanning 74 countries and territories. In 2024, the company signed a record number of 61 deals for luxury hotels and resorts, closing the year with 266 in the pipeline. W Hotels expanded its global footprint and experienced robust portfolio growth, seeing significant momentum in its ongoing evolution in 2024, including celebrating the highly anticipated opening of W Prague, andthe unveiling of the reimagined W Hollywood and W Union Square in New York.
St. Regis marked its 60th hotel worldwide, with the opening of The St. Regis on the Bund, Shanghai in October 2024. The Luxury Collection announced the opening of Koenigshof, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Munich, marking the brand’s entry in Germany. EDITION debuted in Saudi Arabia with The Jeddah EDITION. The recently announced JW Marriott Crete Resort and Spa is anticipated to open in 2025, marking the brand’s debut in Greece. The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection launched Ilma, its second superyacht, on its inaugural voyage through the Mediterranean, with its third vessel, Luminara, anticipated to embark on its inaugural voyage in the summer of 2025 with itineraries in the Mediterranean and Asia.
Midscale segment
Following its entry into the segment, Marriott strengthened its presence in affordable midscale in 2024. City Express by Marriott is now anticipated to expand into Nicaragua, Bolivia, Argentina, and Peru, with plans to also expand into Brazil. In October 2024, the company announced this conversion-friendly brand’s planned debut in the U.S. and Canada, marking Marriott’s introduction of a transient midscale offering in the region. The brand currently has 153 open properties (17,777 rooms), with 53 in the pipeline (5,673 rooms).
StudioRes, an extended stay midscale brand in the U.S. and Canada, celebrated its first groundbreaking last January and closed 2024 with 35 properties (4,037 total rooms) in the pipeline, anticipating its first opening later this year.
Four Points Flex by Sheraton, a conversion-friendly midscale brand in Marriott’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific excluding China (APEC) regions, celebrated numerous additions and signings, closing the year with 28 open properties (5,037 rooms) and 33 in the pipeline (4,003 rooms).
Branded Residences segment
As the largest branded residences company globally, Marriott is entering its 25th year in the segment. The company has grown its open portfolio by over 50% since year-end 2019, closing 2024 with 142 open residential locations and a pipeline of 138 locations (28% of which are standalone projects) across 16 distinct brands. In 2024, the Marriott Branded Residences portfolio generated $2.1 billion in residential sales revenue for third-party developers, nearly double the previous year’s total.
Recently signed and upcoming portfolio highlights include: the Westin Residences Gurugram, slated to be the largest branded residences in India and the company’s first branded standalone residences in the country; The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Boston, South Station Tower, a standalone property expected to transform Boston’s skyline; the Almare, a Luxury Collection Residence, an all-inclusive co-located property in Isla Mujeres, a coveted luxury destination; and The St. Regis Residences, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi, which celebrated a signing ceremony in December 2024.
Non-traditional offerings
In the past year, Marriott continued to enhance its offerings by exploring segments outside of traditional hospitality offerings. In December 2024, Marriott announced the expansion of its outdoor-focused lodging offerings through two founding deals with key players in the outdoor lodging segment. The deals include the acquisition of the Postcard Cabins brand, formerly known as Getaway Outposts, and the execution of a long-term agreement with Trailborn. With plans to launch an outdoor-focused collection this year, the company aims to offer guests and Marriott Bonvoy members more choice in traditional and alternative accommodations in nature-forward destinations.
The company also announced a long-term licensing agreement with Sonder Holdings in August 2024, adding over 9,000 rooms to Marriott’s open portfolio and approximately 1,700 rooms to its development pipeline at year-end.
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U.S. and Canada
In its largest region, U.S. and Canada, Marriott’s portfolio at year-end 2024 totaled over 1 million open rooms across 6,307 properties, with nearly 263,000 rooms (representing 2,161 properties) in the pipeline. The company also signed a record 608 deals in the region in 2024. In June 2024, the company announced three signed agreements for iconic properties to join brands within the company’s luxury portfolio – The Resort at Pelican Hill under the St. Regis brand, The Ritz-Carlton O‘ahu, Turtle Bay, and the Luxury Collection Midtown Manhattan. The long-term license agreement with MGM also continued to fuel growth, with MGM Collection by Marriott Bonvoy encompassing 16 destinations as of year-end 2024, including the recently converted W Las Vegas on the Mandalay Bay Campus.
Asia Pacific Excluding China (APEC)
In 2024, Marriott signed a record-breaking 109 deals representing 21,439 rooms (19% of which are luxury projects) in the APEC region, growing the company’s pipeline in the region to 363 properties and 77,532 rooms, a 12% increase from the previous year. Strategic multi-unit deals fueled Marriott’s pipeline growth in APEC. In addition to a Four Points Flex multi-unit signing with KKR in Japan, the company signed a multi-unit agreement with PT Pakuwon Jati to develop five properties in Indonesia. The company also celebrated significant milestones in APEC, including its 600th property in the region with the opening of the Adelaide Marriott Hotel, the 150th property in India with the Katra Marriott Resort & Spa, the 50th property in Malaysia with the Penang Marriott Complex, and the 100th property in Japan with the Four Points Flex by Sheraton Osaka Umeda.
Greater China
Marriott saw exciting growth in GC, with 463 properties representing 104,539 rooms in the region’s pipeline at year-end. In 2024, the company signed a record 161 deals representing nearly 31,000 rooms. Following the launch of a long-term cooperation agreement with Delonix Group at the beginning of the year, the two companies announced a total of eight signings and two hotel openings for the Tribute Portfolio brand in Mainland China. Other key signings that marked anticipated brand debuts included an agreement to bring The Luxury Collection and AC Hotels to Shenzhen, a signing to debut The Ritz-Carlton in Xiamen Island in Fujian Province, a signed agreement to bring the W Hotels brand to Sanya, and a signing for The Park Lane Hong Kong, Autograph Collection.
Caribbean and Latin America (CALA)
The company closed the year with 183 properties representing 27,817 rooms in the pipeline in the CALA region (a 15% increase from the previous year) with a record 67 deal signings in 2024. In 2024, Marriott celebrated the 500th property in CALA, with the opening of Almare, a Luxury Collection Resort, Isla Mujeres, Adult All-Inclusive. All-inclusive remained a high-growth segment, accounting for 21% of the company’s CALA pipeline rooms. In July 2024, the company announced the opening of Marriott Cancun, An All-Inclusive Resort, marking the first all-inclusive property for the brand. The company also announced milestone signings in 2024, including an agreement to debut the Tribute Portfolio brand in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, as well as an agreement for The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun, Punta Nizuc, anticipated to open in 2027.
Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA)
Marriott continued to strengthen its footprint across the EMEA region, growing its pipeline to 596 properties representing 104,731 rooms at year-end (a 10% increase from the previous year), following a record-breaking number of annual signings in the region of 291 deals representing over 34,000 rooms. Conversions drove growth across segments and chain scales, representing 45% of the region’s rooms signings in the year. The company announced key signings in 2024, including a multi-unit agreement with Knowledge Economic City to open three hotels within the Holy City of Madinah in Saudi Arabia and a signed agreement to bring The Ritz-Carlton brand to Serbia. The region also celebrated several brand debuts, including the opening of Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, an island retreat in the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia andthe first Ritz-Carlton Reserve in the region, and the Fairfield by Marriott Copenhagen Nordhavn in Denmark’s capital city, the brand’s first property in Europe.
Featured image by Marriott
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