Marriott's room growth in 2016 broke records

Apart from that acquisition, how was 2016 for Marriott International? In a new statement, the company declared that last year broke records for room growth in the company's history, with a record 55,000 new rooms--not counting the 381,000 rooms gained with the Starwood acquisition. 

The combined company signed 880 new hotel deals, representing nearly 136,000 rooms, under long-term management and franchise agreements, and opened over 400 hotels with more than 68,000 rooms around the world. Marriott now operates or franchises more than 6,000 hotels and nearly 1.2 million rooms.

“2016 will go down as a remarkable year in Marriott’s history” Arne Sorenson, Marriott’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “We completed the acquisition of Starwood and posted record growth.” 

“We achieved strong global growth across both established and emerging markets in 2016,” said Tony Capuano, Marriott’s EVP and global CDO. “According to STR as of December 2016, Marriott’s North American pipeline accounted for a leading 36 percent of industry rooms under construction and 14 percent of industry rooms open. For the first time in Marriott’s history, more than half the rooms in our development pipeline are outside of North America, with 44 percent of those rooms under construction.”

The combined company’s global distribution of select-service hotels included nearly 4,000 properties at the end of 2016. The company’s select-service portfolio is still going strong with 275 openings and more than 640 new deals signed last year. Growth should accelerate with nearly 1,800 select-service projects in the pipeline. The select-service growth trajectory was led by the established Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn and Suites, and Residence Inn by Marriott brands and bolstered by the newest members of the company’s select-service portfolio, Aloft and Element, each of which recorded their highest number of signings ever.

The luxury and upper-upscale segments also fared well, with the signing of 236 new hotels, representing over 50,000 rooms, and the opening of over 100 hotels, representing over 27,000 rooms, in destinations such as Singapore, Houston and Sanya, China as a new generation of travelers seek distinctive experiences around the world. Marriott’s share of the industry’s luxury rooms pipeline is 29 percent.  

The Autograph Collection, meanwhile, surpassed 110 open hotels. The three "soft brands" (the Tribute Portfolio and The Luxury Collection) generated nearly 80 signed deals during the year, contributing to the opening of 28 hotels in 2016.