Marriott Revenue Up as Consumers Spend on Experiences

Hotel chain Marriott enjoyed a positive quarter thanks to a jump in overseas travel.

The company on Thursday (Nov. 2) posted quarterly earnings showing an 8.8% increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR), including a 22% jump in RevPAR for international properties, particularly in the Asia/Pacific (APAC) region.

Speaking during an earnings call, Marriott Chief Financial Officer Leeny Orberg noted the results showcased the continued desire among consumers for spending on experiences.

“So whether it is for music concerts or professional sports games or for youth athletics or all of those pieces of people’s lives, that continues to be a great driver of demand for travel and really is quite global,” she said.

It is, she added, “kind of a realization on the part of people that travel is a fundamental part of life and one that is very much appreciated.”

CEO Anthony Capuano added that conversations with Marriott’s credit card partners have shown a shift in consumer spending across age groups. The experience trend, he said, was “much more prevalent in the younger generations pre-pandemic.”

“When you look at current credit card spending data, it appears that that’s a trend that really spans generations now, which is obviously great news for our business,” Capuano added.

This is the second quarter in which Marriott has logged an uptick in RevPAR thanks to demand from travelers in Asia.

“Greater China rebounded quickly once travel restrictions were lifted in January, with second-quarter RevPAR surpassing pre-pandemic levels,” Capuano said in August.

The CEO said Thursday that Marriott expects things to trend even further to the positive on that front as “international airlift to China” picks up.

“International airlift in Greater China was roughly 50% of 2019 capacity at the end of the third quarter and is expected to improve to around 60% by the end of the year,” Capuano said.

The company’s results come at a time when consumers are turning to tools like buy now, pay later (BNPL) to fund travel.

In a recent interview with PYMNTS, Jacqueline White, i2c’s president, and Inter & Co COO Ray Chalub argued that BNPL offers a viable solution for consumers to book and pay for their desired trips while spending the cash they have on hand.

“Furthermore, BNPL options also have a positive ripple effect once they land and check in, as an increasing number of merchants and service providers now offer consumers the option to spread the cost of goods, meals and tours over time,” PYMNTS wrote last week.