Marriott International looked back on a turbulent year when releasing its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, with some signs of ongoing challenges as well as reasons for optimism.
During an earnings call with investors this morning, Marriott President and CEO Anthony Capuano highlighted “an incredibly strong fourth quarter for signings,” during which the team finalized nearly 1,200 deals representing 163,000 rooms, excluding mergers and acquisitions.
Revenue and Earnings
For the fourth quarter of 2025, worldwide revenue per available room increased 1.9 percent (a 2.4 percent increase using actual dollars) compared to the 2024 fourth quarter. In a statement accompanying the earnings release, Capuano credited the growth to growth in average daily rate.
At the same time, RevPAR in the U.S. and Canada declined 0.1 percent (a 0.1 percent decrease using actual dollars) year over year and RevPAR in international markets increased 6.1 percent (a 7.6 percent increase using actual dollars) year over year. In the statement, Capuano noted that the international RevPAR growth was led by the Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific (excluding China) regions, “benefiting from solid leisure transient and cross-border travel.” The U.S. and Canada RevPAR decline reflected “the impact of the extended government shutdown primarily on the business transient segment,” he added.
For the year, Capuano said that the leisure and luxury segments “led the way” in revenue. Leisure RevPAR was up 3 percent while group RevPAR rose 2 percent and business-transient RevPAR was flat. For the full year, luxury RevPAR increased more than 6 percent while select-service RevPAR declined 30 basis points. “Our 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 during the call. A full 10 percent of Marriott’s open rooms globally, and 10 percent of its pipeline rooms, are in the luxury segment, he added.
While group RevPAR increased 1 percent during the quarter, the gains were offset by a 3 percent decline in business transient RevPAR, “largely due to a meaningful decline in government RevPAR,” Capuano said during the call. “In the quarter, government RevPAR was down over 30 percent during the 43-day U.S. government shutdown, though it has since moderated to down around 15 percent.”
For the full year, RevPAR increased 2 percent worldwide, with 5.1 percent growth in international markets and 0.7 percent increase in U.S. and Canada. The 2 percent growth is at the low end of the company’s guidance from a year ago, but still within the range.
Fourth-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation or amortization totaled $1.4 billion, a 9 percent increase compared to fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted EBITDA of $1.29 billion. For the full year, adjusted EBITDA totaled $5.38 billion.
Reported net income for the quarter totaled $445 million and adjusted net income totaled $695 million. For the full year, reported net income totaled $2.6 billion and adjusted net income totaled $2.74 billion.
Unit Growth
During the fourth quarter of the year, Marriott completed the integration of the citizenM portfolio, adding 37 hotels and nearly 8,800 rooms to its system. The company also opened the first 37 Series by Marriott hotels in India and expanded the brand into the U.S. and Canada.
Nearly 100,000 gross rooms joined the global system worldwide over the year while net rooms grew more 4.3 percent. The company added roughly 73,600 net rooms during the year, including approximately 51,600 net rooms in international markets. At the end of the year, Marriott’s global system totaled more than 9,800 properties, with nearly 1,780,000 rooms.
The company, Capuano added, signed a record 114 deals for luxury hotels during the year.
At year-end, Marriott’s worldwide development pipeline totaled 4,056 properties with nearly 610,000 rooms, including 234 properties with more than 35,000 rooms approved for development, but not yet subject to signed contracts. During the call, Capuano noted that the pipeline was up 2 percent from the prior quarter and up 6 percent from the prior year.
The year-end pipeline included 1,648 properties with nearly 265,000 rooms under construction, including hotels that are in the process of converting to Marriott’s system. Just under half—43 percent—of pipeline rooms under construction include rooms that are pending conversion. “Conversions contributed about one‑third of organic room signings and gross room additions,” Capuano said in the statement.
Notably, more than half of the rooms in the year-end pipeline are in international markets.
Looking Ahead
For full-year 2026, Marriott expects worldwide RevPAR to grow 1.5 to 2.5 percent, net rooms growth of 4.5 to 5 percent and adjusted EBITDA growth of 8 to 10 percent. (In comparison, a year ago, the company’s guidance expected RevPAR growth of 2 to 4 percent for 2025.) CFO Leeny Oberg noted that this guidance includes the company’s “typical assumption” of between 1 and 1.5 percent room deletion.
Celebrating Leeny Oberg
Oberg announced her retirement in July and today’s earnings call was her final such event with Marriott before she steps down at the end of March. Nearly every investor participating took time to thank Oberg for her service to the company and industry, and Capuano noted the industry recognition she has earned since her announcement.
“She has been an extraordinary leader, an extraordinary partner,” Capuano said at the end of the call. “She has an unwavering belief in the power and potential of travel and of Marriott, and has steered us through some of the most difficult, complex challenges that the companies faced over all these years. She will be deeply missed.”
Oberg, for her part, echoed Lou Gehrig as she signed off. “I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have spent my career at Marriott,” she said. “The travel and hospitality industry is extraordinarily dynamic, and frankly, with tons of growth, opportunity and innovation ahead of us.” She recognized her successors—Jen Mason, who will become the company’s chief financial officer, and Shawn Hill, who will take on the role of chief development officer—and predicted they would “take the company to new and greater heights after I retire.
“The way you win in our business is by taking care of people and treating people well. It doesn't get any better than that,” she added. “So with that, I thank you and I thank everybody on the phone very much for all your time and energy that you put into helping understand Marriott and our strategy.”