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Marriott International has announced that net income totalled $468m (£345m) in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to net loss of $164m (£121m) in the year-ago quarter, as the group rebounded and praised the “incredible resilience” of its portfolio.
Against the fourth quarter in 2020, fourth quarter 2021 RevPAR increased 124.5% worldwide, 143.6% in the U.S. and Canada, and 83.3% in international markets, as the world recovered from the effects of the pandemic the previous year.
All regions reported “meaningful” continued RevPAR recovery compared to the third quarter, with the exception of Greater China, where recovery stalled due to their zero Covid policy. In the U.S. and Canada, RevPAR declined 15% compared to fourth quarter 2019 levels versus a 20% decline in the third quarter compared to 2019.
In addition, compared to 2019 levels, its international hotels posted only a 28% RevPAR decline in the fourth quarter, marking a 12% improvement from the third quarter. Despite the effect of Omicron in the period, Marriott reported that new bookings across customer segments have now rebounded to pre-Omicron levels.
Over the course of the year, the group signed approximately 92,000 rooms, of which more than 50,000 were in international markets and more than 40% were in the upper upscale and luxury tiers.
It also added more than 86,000 gross rooms to its distribution, marking a new annual record, 21% of which were conversions. In addition, it reported 3.9% net rooms growth for 2021, exceeding previous expectations.
In light of this, the group said it was now “bullish” about its ability to increase its footprint over the next several years, and for 2022, it expects gross rooms growth approaching 5% and deletions of 1 to 1.5% resulting in anticipated net rooms growth of 3.5 to 4%.
Its worldwide development pipeline currently totals 2,831 properties and roughly 485,000 rooms, including 19,000 rooms approved, but not yet subject to signed contracts.
Anthony Capuano, CEO, said, “The 2021 fourth quarter capped off a year that showed the incredible resilience of people’s desire to travel and the appeal of our broad portfolio of 30 global brands.
“We experienced significant progress in global RevPAR recovery in 2021 despite the emergence of new variants and ongoing headwinds from the global pandemic. By the fourth quarter, global RevPAR was 19 percent below 2019 levels, a 40-percentage point improvement from the decline in the first quarter of the year.”
He added: “Global average daily rate (ADR) nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels in the 2021 fourth quarter, while occupancy came in at 58%, down 12 percentage points versus 2019. Leisure demand continued to shine in the fourth quarter, with slower, yet continued improvement in business transient and group demand.
“While we are keeping an eye on the continued impact from Omicron, we look forward to the day when we reach a new normal where the impact from Covid-19 on travel has essentially disappeared. In the meantime, we continue to focus on driving revenues, controlling costs, maximising cash flow, and improving our credit metrics. Assuming no meaningful setback in the global recovery, we could begin returning cash to shareholders later in 2022.”
