Dive Brief:
- Marriott International saw worldwide RevPAR increase 1.9% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025, while in the U.S. and Canada, the metric decreased slightly by 0.1% in the quarter, according to a Tuesday earnings report.
- The relatively flat U.S. and Canada results reflected “the impact of the extended government shutdown primarily on the business transient segment,” CEO Anthony Capuano said in the report. Globally, Marriott’s luxury hotels outperformed in Q4.
- Also in the fourth quarter, Marriott’s worldwide development pipeline reached a record 610,000 rooms, Capuano said on a Thursday earnings call. Conversions “remain a key driver of growth” on the development front, Capuano said.
Dive Insight:
Marriott’s development pipeline at the end of Q4 was up 2% from the prior quarter and 6% year over year, Capuano said on the call. Conversions contributed to roughly a third of Marriott’s signings and openings during the whole of 2025, he added.
At year-end, Marriott's global system totaled more than 9,800 properties, or nearly 1.78 million rooms, up 4.3% year over year, per the report.
Contributing to that growth, Marriott opened the first two U.S. hotels under its recently launched Series by Marriott collection brand during Q4. The company also completed the integration of its acquired CitizenM portfolio in the fourth quarter, adding 37 hotels or nearly 8,800 rooms to its system.
Also during the quarter, Marriott launched nature-focused collection brand Outdoor Collection by Marriott Bonvoy, which closed the year with more than 30 open properties, per the company.
Challenges to growth during Q4 included a “meaningful decline” in government RevPAR, Capuano noted on the call. Also during the quarter, Marriott terminated its licensing agreement with apartment-style hospitality provider Sonder Holdings.
Despite hurdles, Marriott’s portfolio “is well positioned to benefit from continued expected strength at the upper end, as higher-end consumers remain resilient and continue to prioritize spending on experience and travel over goods,” Capuano said on the call. Some 10% of Marriott’s pipeline rooms globally are in the luxury segment, he said.
“With a growing pipeline and strong momentum in conversions,” Marriott anticipates net rooms growth in the range of between 4.5% and 5% for full-year 2026, CFO Leeny Oberg said on the call. Oberg will retire next month, with Jen Mason succeeding her in the role.
Marriott also anticipates growth on the technology front. In the first half of 2026, the company plans to start deploying natural language search on Marriott.com as well as the Marriott Bonvoy mobile app, Capuano said. Hospitality professionals previously told Hotel Dive that agentic commerce could begin to reshape the hotel booking experience in 2026.
