Anthony Capuano

Capuano said Greater China RevPAR was flat as strength in luxury, Hong Kong, Hainan and Taiwan was offset by slowing domestic leisure demand in the rest of the mainland.

Greater China RevPAR was roughly flat. Luxury hotels and the Hong Kong, Hainan and Taiwan markets remained strong, but slowing domestic leisure demand across most of the rest of mainland China offset those gains.

Original (zh)

大中华区RevPAR基本持平，奢华酒店以及香港、海南和台湾地区市场持续强劲，但中国内地其余大部分地区的国内休闲旅游需求放缓，抵消了这些增长。

Capuano said Marriott's demand in the U.S. and Canada was broad-based across customer segments and chain scales.

Anthony Capuano, president and chief executive officer, said demand was broad-based across customer segments and chain scales in the U.S. and Canada.

Capuano says the Bonvoy loyalty program deepens guest relationships, drives direct bookings for owners and is a key reason owners and developers join Marriott.

Marriott Bonvoy deepens our relationships with guests, drives valuable direct bookings for our owners, and is a key reason owners and developers choose to join the Marriott system.

Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said business trends in the Middle East, despite the war's impact, have improved meaningfully since the spring.

trends improved meaningfully

Capuano said trends in Marriott's Middle East business, hurt by the war, improved meaningfully compared with spring.

Even in the Middle East, where the war has affected its business, CEO Anthony Capuano said that “trends improved meaningfully” from the spring.

Capuano said the Middle East conflict still weighed on regional results, but trends improved meaningfully versus the second quarter.

“While the ongoing conflict in the Middle East continued to impact results in that region, trends improved meaningfully from the second quarter,”

Capuano says AI is mainly reshaping travel discovery for now, with the impact on bookings moving more slowly, though he expects profound effects across industries.

I continue to be a firm believer that AI is going to profoundly impact virtually every industry, certainly the travel vertical. In some ways, we're in the early innings of AI's entry into travel. Right now, our view is that AI is largely reshaping travel discovery. That doesn't mean at some point it won't have a similar impact on bookings, but that piece seems to be moving more slowly.

Capuano says Marriott will keep pushing conversions and sees its early mid-scale expansion, near 600 hotels, as a big opportunity.

We have built this supertanker that is really built to take advantage of the wide range of conversion opportunities that are out there, and we intend to continue to stand on that accelerator. The last thing I would say to you is, as we have discussed, we are in our relative infancy of entering the mid-scale tier. It is going great. Between open and pipeline, we are already approaching 600 hotels in the system, but it is early.

Capuano says key money has become the competitive weapon in conversions, and deals using it yield a higher per-room value premium (about 75% this year).

Whether we like it or not, key money seems to be the weapon of choice against that competitive landscape. If you look at all the deals we did in calendar 2025, the deals where Marriott participated with key money had an average value premium per room of about 65%. Year to date through the first three quarters this year, those deals where we deployed key money had an average premium per room of about 75%.

Capuano assumes ongoing Middle East travel disruption with gradual 2027 improvement, while noting no abnormal pipeline fallout.

We're currently assuming ongoing travel disruption with some gradual improvement during the course of 2027. I wish I had a better crystal ball. It's obviously a highly volatile situation. What I will tell you is we are not seeing fallout from the pipeline, whether it be in the Middle East or on a global basis, that is anywhere close to outside what we have experienced around the world in normal circumstances.

Capuano raised 2026 global RevPAR growth guidance to 4.5%-5%, citing remarkably robust travel demand despite geopolitical uncertainty.

We are raising our full year 2026 guidance. We now expect 4.5%-5% global RevPAR growth. This is well above the 1.5%-2.5% growth range we initially forecast on our year-end 2025 earnings call, as travel demand has been remarkably robust this year despite geopolitical uncertainty.

Capuano notes US/Canada new-build starts are up 20% while global starts are down about 24%, underscoring the importance of conversions.

The new build construction starts in the U.S. and Canada, last year were up about 7% versus the prior year. Through the first three quarters this year, new build construction starts are up 20% year over year. Globally, which I think was the second part of your question, year to date through the first three quarters of the year, new build construction starts were down about 24%.

Capuano said Q3 growth exceeded prior expectations because travel demand stayed remarkably robust this year despite geopolitical uncertainty.

travel demand has been remarkably robust this year, despite geopolitical uncertainty

Capuano attributed leisure RevPAR growth to consumers worldwide continuing to prioritize in-person experiences such as travel.

as people around the world continue to prioritize in-person experiences like travel

Capuano said conversions remain an important growth driver, accounting for over a third of signings and more than 40% of openings.

continued to be an important driver of growth

Capuano said the Middle East conflict still weighs on regional results, though trends have improved meaningfully since the second quarter.

Chief Executive Anthony Capuano said the conflict in the Middle East continued to affect results in that region, but trends "improved meaningfully from the second quarter."