Marriott expects net rooms growth to accelerate to 4.5%-5% in 2026
Marriott reported strong FY2025 results and guided to an accelerating 4.5-5% rooms growth for 2026 with mid-single-digit fee growth. The company raised its co-brand credit card royalty rate, a step-change in card fee revenue separate from ongoing Visa/Chase/AmEx renewals. Net rooms growth accelerating to 4.5-5% in 2026, driven by conversions and mid-scale expansion.
Buzzberg readMarriott expects net rooms growth to accelerate to 4.5%-5% in 2026Marriott reported strong FY2025 results and guided to an accelerating 4.5-5% rooms growth for 2026 with mid-single-digit fee growth. The company raised its co-brand credit card royalty rate, a step-change in card fee revenue separate from ongoing Visa/Chase/AmEx renewals. Net rooms growth accelerating to 4.5-5% in 2026, driven by conversions and mid-scale expansion.Read full analysisCollapse analysis
Marriott reported strong FY2025 results and guided to an accelerating 4.5-5% rooms growth for 2026 with mid-single-digit fee growth. The company raised its co-brand credit card royalty rate, a step-change in card fee revenue separate from ongoing Visa/Chase/AmEx renewals. Net rooms growth accelerating to 4.5-5% in 2026, driven by conversions and mid-scale expansion.
Credit card fee growth +35% in 2026 due to a higher royalty rate and spend growth; independent of renewal deals.
Luxury and leisure continue to lead RevPAR; select-service and government business remain weakest (government down ~15%).
AI/GenAI distribution partnerships with Google and OpenAI are early signs of shift to AI-first travel booking.
GROSS_FEE revenue$1.4B
reported
Revenue$6.69B
reported
EPS$2.58
reported
Gross margin16.53%
reported
What changed this quarter
01
Guidance
Marriott expects net rooms growth to accelerate to 4.5%-5% in 2026
Guidance · revenue to $5.93B
02
Supply
Record 610,000 pipeline rooms, up 6% year-over-year
Net rooms growth accelerating to 4.5-5% in 2026, driven by conversions and mid-scale expansion.
03
Guidance
Credit card fees expected to surge 35% in 2026 due to royalty rate increase
Guidance · revenue to $5.93B
04
AI
AI natural language search to deploy on Marriott.com and app in 2026
Management sees AI as an opportunity to redefine the customer acquisition paradigm and plans to deploy natural language search on Marriott.com and the Bonvoy app, working with Google and OpenAI on early AI travel products. They are optimistic about AI bringing consumers into…
AI, capex & demand read
AI
Platform & monetization
Management sees AI as an opportunity to redefine the customer acquisition paradigm and plans to deploy natural language search on Marriott.com and the Bonvoy app, working with Google and OpenAI on early AI travel products. They are optimistic about AI bringing consumers into the loyalty ecosystem and strengthening direct bookings.
Demand
Bookings & conversion
World Cup expected to add 30-35 basis points to 2026 global RevPAR. Management expressed confidence in growth acceleration, record pipeline, and strategic initiatives like AI and credit card fee increases, while acknowledging some headwinds in Greater China and select service.
Capex
Investment and capacity
Investment spending in 2026 is expected to be similar to 2025, around $1-1.1 billion, with 35-40% allocated to digital tech transformation (mostly reimbursed) and 35-40% to contract investments for new and existing units. The tech platform rollout is moving to deployment, with about 25% of spend on owned hotel renovations.
Tone · Confident
Management expressed confidence in growth acceleration, record pipeline, and strategic initiatives like AI and credit card fee increases, while acknowledging some headwinds in Greater China and select service.
Supply-chain alpha
A1
Marriott raised its co-brand credit card royalty rate, a contractual change separate from ongoing deal renewals with Visa/Chase/AmEx, and now guides card fees +35% in 2026, decoupled from spending growth.
Government (federal) business transient RevPAR remains down ~15% and was down >30% during the 43-day government shutdown, hitting select-service hotels hardest.
“Government RevPAR was down over 30% during the 43-day U.S. government shutdown, though it has since moderated to down around 15%.”
… capitalize on the significant opportunities GenAI represents. While AI search and commerce models are still emerging, We're excited about AI's ability to further personalize and simplify the travel search and the booking process. And we're optimistic about the potential for AI to bring more consumers into the Marriott Bonvoy ecosystem and help strengthen our direct booking channels in a very efficient manner. In the first half of this year, we plan to start deploying natural language search on Marriott.com and on the Bonvoy mobile app. We're also optimizing our content for generative AI technologies, so our properties are well positioned wherever and however consumers are searching. Furthermore, we are actively collaborating with numerous tech companies across the space. For example, we are one of the initial companies working with Google on their forthcoming Google AI mode travel product and with OpenAI on their ad pilot program. Before I end my prepared remarks, I want to thank our team around the world for their hard work and care that they bring to Marriott every day. And Lene, for the last time, I'll turn the call over to you to discuss our financial results in more detail.
… fully integrated onto our platforms in November, Series by Marriott, our new global collection brand for the mid-scale and upscale segments, and the Outdoor Collection by Marriott Bonvoy. Our focus on being in more places with the best brands and experiences helps fuel the growth of our powerful Marriott Bonvoy loyalty programs. Last year alone, 43 million new members joined Bonvoy, propelling the membership base to 271 million members worldwide at year end. We continue to augment the Bonvoy platform with popular collaborations like Uber and Starbucks, and with new bespoke Bonvoy moments and immersive experiences. We recently won the Points Guy Award for the Best Hotel Loyalty Program for the third year in a row. And we're thrilled that Marriott Bonvoy is now the official hotel supporter of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with our extensive portfolio of hotels across the 16 host cities and curated fan activations poised to provide incredible, memorable experiences throughout the 104-match tournament. We are actively investing in technology, data, and A.I., both internally and with partners, to transform the guest and the associate experience. The multi-year transformation of Marriott's …
… in November, Series by Marriott, our new global collection brand for the mid-scale and upscale segments, and the Outdoor Collection by Marriott Bonvoy. Our focus on being in more places with the best brands and experiences helps fuel the growth of our powerful Marriott Bonvoy loyalty programs. Last year alone, 43 million new members joined Bonvoy, propelling the membership base to 271 million members worldwide at year end. We continue to augment the Bonvoy platform with popular collaborations like Uber and Starbucks, and with new bespoke Bonvoy moments and immersive experiences. We recently won the Points Guy Award for the Best Hotel Loyalty Program for the third year in a row. And we're thrilled that Marriott Bonvoy is now the official hotel supporter of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with our extensive portfolio of hotels across the 16 host cities and curated fan activations poised to provide incredible, memorable experiences throughout the 104-match tournament. We are actively investing in technology, data, and A.I., both internally and with partners, to transform the guest and the associate experience. The multi-year transformation of Marriott's three major tech systems, …
Marriott raised its co-brand credit card royalty rate, a contractual change separate from ongoing deal renewals with Visa/Chase/AmEx, and now guides card fees +35% in 2026, decoupled from spending growth. — This signals Marriott is extracting higher economics from existing card partnerships, creating a new line-item revenue source that may pressure card partners' payment economics.
Leni ObergChief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Development
… to again be roughly flat year over year. The World Cup is expected to contribute around 30 to 35 basis points of global RevPAR growth for the full year. The sensitivity of 1% change in full year 2026 RevPAR versus 2025 could be around 55 to 65 million of RevPAR-related fees. For the full year, gross fee revenues could rise 8 to 10%, so 5.9 to 5.96 billion. IMFs are expected to be flat to up slightly year over year. As we have discussed, we're currently in discussions with Visa, Chase, and American Express and expect to have new deals in the U.S. in place later this year. At this point, our guidance does not include any impact from these new deals. As a reminder, our program is already the largest by far in the industry and has been for some time. If you remember, we combined the Starwood American Express and Marriott Chase Visa program when we acquired Starwood, and these two programs have been the strong power leaders in this industry since then. Our guidance does include a meaningful expected year-over-year increase of around 35% in co-branded credit card fees going into our franchise fees line. The increase is primarily the result of two factors. The first is continued …
AI-mode travel products (Google/OpenAI) are being co-designed now, and Marriott plans to deploy natural-language search site-wide in 1H2026. — The shift to AI-channel discovery may reshape OTA economics and create new cost/revenue dynamics for third-party booking platforms.
… capitalize on the significant opportunities GenAI represents. While AI search and commerce models are still emerging, We're excited about AI's ability to further personalize and simplify the travel search and the booking process. And we're optimistic about the potential for AI to bring more consumers into the Marriott Bonvoy ecosystem and help strengthen our direct booking channels in a very efficient manner. In the first half of this year, we plan to start deploying natural language search on Marriott.com and on the Bonvoy mobile app. We're also optimizing our content for generative AI technologies, so our properties are well positioned wherever and however consumers are searching. Furthermore, we are actively collaborating with numerous tech companies across the space. For example, we are one of the initial companies working with Google on their forthcoming Google AI mode travel product and with OpenAI on their ad pilot program. Before I end my prepared remarks, I want to thank our team around the world for their hard work and care that they bring to Marriott every day. And Lene, for the last time, I'll turn the call over to you to discuss our financial results in more detail.
🍪 Cookies
We use cookies to operate this site and for analytics. Declining won't affect your access to content.