Marriott’s business is booming and rates are climbing — except in China

01.08.2024 - 00:33 / thepointsguy.com / Leeny Oberg / Anthony Capuano

Don't expect any rate discounts at the world's largest hotel company — with one notable exception.

Marriott International reported Wednesday morning a hefty $772 million profit for the second quarter, which roared on strong group travel demand as well as ongoing strength in markets like the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. Further, the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program now has more than 210 million members.

But while many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, like Japan, showed hotel strength, it's a different story in China.

The country, an enormously important market for hotel companies like Marriott and for outbound tourism to countries around the world, is facing a mix of economic issues at home, while Chinese tourists spending in the luxury markets are beginning to travel to other countries within the Asia-Pacific region.

"[Performance] in Greater China declined roughly 4% in the quarter as macroeconomic pressures led to softer domestic demand," Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said during a company earnings call Wednesday. "The region was also impacted by an increase in outbound high-end travelers."

Average hotel rates in China were down roughly 5% from April through the end of June, according to Marriott's financial release.

A Truist Securities report released Wednesday after the Marriott earnings results indicated there's fatigue in China around post-lockdown "revenge travel" that fueled much of the travel industry's comeback from the COVID-19 crisis. Further, other economic issues like high unemployment, a real estate crisis and weaker consumer spending are also to blame.

Marriott leaders noted cities like Macau and Hong Kong are still posting strong performance, however. But while high-end Chinese travelers might be venturing to other Asia-Pacific countries, they still aren't back to pre-pandemic levels in the U.S.

"The travel [from China] to and from the U.S. is definitely not back to the levels that it was, and we do continue to expect to see really strong outbound demand from Greater China," said Leeny Oberg, Marriott's chief financial officer and executive vice president of development, before later adding: "But I will point you again to the overall macroeconomic picture there in Greater China, which has frankly meant that overall levels of travel spend have not recovered as fast as perhaps might have been expected."

While room rates might be down in China, travelers shouldn't expect to find bargains practically anywhere else in the world where Marriott has a hotel. Globally, average nightly rates at Marriott rose 3% in the last three months.

In the U.S. and Canada, average rates are up slightly more than 2%, while those in the Middle East and Africa increased by nearly 11%. Room rates jumped