Marriott's Brand Advantage Intact Amid Healthy Travel Demand
The war in Iran is not affecting demand for Marriott's brands outside the Middle East. Indeed, the hotelier's US demand is improving, helped by tax rebates and investment in AI, onshoring, and infrastructure spending. We expect demand for Marriott's brands to endure and for the hotelier's global share to increase further over the next several years. Marriott has strong intangible assets, the source of its wide moat, valued by both hotel owners and travelers. In the past few years, Marriott has added several new brands, which support our constructive stance. In fact, recent brands StudioRes, City Express, citizenM, and Four Points not only extend Marriott's reach into the midscale and extended-stay segments but could also add several hundred hotels each over the next several years. Additionally, in 2025, the company acquired citizenM, which added about 8,000 rooms. Further, we believe the 2023 partnership with MGM's Vegas portfolio has strengthened Marriott's long-term brand advantage, as MGM's leading presence in the gaming mecca complements Marriott's dominant position in North America. Also, we see Marriott as having an industry-leading loyalty program with 295 million members (as of June 30, 2026), which incentivizes third-party hotel owners to join its brands.
United States