Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) Chief Financial Officer Jen Mason said travel demand remains broadly healthy, with leisure and group travel showing strength, while the Middle East remains the company’s primary near-term headwind.
Speaking at a Morgan Stanley investor conference, Mason, who recently became CFO after serving as Marriott’s treasurer and head of risk management, said she brings “breadth and depth” across the company after more than three decades in roles spanning finance, technology, strategy, sales and marketing. She said Marriott will continue to emphasize “financial discipline,” capital allocation and investments intended to support long-term growth and shareholder value.
RevPAR Growth Led by U.S. and Canada
International RevPAR fell 6% in April, driven primarily by the Middle East. Mason said RevPAR in the Middle East was down about 60% in April, with the impact concentrated in markets including the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, where occupancies were below 50%. She said May was “not down as much” and that Marriott still feels good about its second-quarter forecast for RevPAR in the Middle East to be down 50%.
Europe remained positive in April, with growth driven by leisure destinations including Spain, Italy, Turkey and Greece. In the U.S. and Canada, Memorial Day weekend RevPAR rose nearly 3% year over year, and June and July bookings were pacing up in both World Cup and non-World Cup markets. In Europe, summer bookings were pacing slightly higher, with demand roughly in line with last year and rates up in the low single digits.
Mason said U.S. travelers represent about 30% of European bookings and were down slightly year over year, but that weakness was being offset by growth from Canada and China.
Middle East Seen as Key Swing Factor
Mason said Marriott remains confident in leisure demand and described group travel as healthy, with group RevPAR up more than 5% in the first quarter and full-year pace remaining strong.
She identified the Middle East as a key swing factor for the year due to the “fluidity and uncertainty” of the situation in the region. Marriott’s outlook assumes that uncertainty continues, with an expected full-year RevPAR impact of about 100 to 125 basis points, mainly from the Middle East.
For the full year, Mason said Marriott is still projecting global RevPAR growth of 2% to 3%, with the U.S. and Canada expected to be at the high end of that range. She said the company expects RevPAR growth in the second half of the year to be slightly lower than in the first half and is monitoring the health of the consumer, including whether higher oil prices could weigh on demand.
Development Pipeline Remains a Focus
Mason said Marriott’s development pitch to owners is “stronger than ever,” citing the company’s brand portfolio, loyalty platform, distribution channels and revenue engines. She said Marriott is still projecting 4.5% to 5% net rooms growth for the year and feels good about a mid-single-digit range thereafter.
International markets remain a central part of the growth strategy. Mason said Marriott’s international market share of open rooms is about 4%, while its share of global new construction pipeline rooms is nearly four times that level. More than half of Marriott’s 618,000-room pipeline is outside the U.S. and Canada.
She also discussed the company’s Series collection brand, describing it as a regional and local offering that allows hotels to keep their identities while using Marriott’s channels. Unlike soft brands such as Luxury Collection, Autograph and Tribute, which tend to play in upper-upscale and luxury, Series is focused on midscale to upscale and more domestically oriented travelers.
Fees, Credit Cards and Cost Discipline
Mason said Marriott’s pipeline is diversified by chain scale, geography and segment. At the end of the first quarter, about 38% of pipeline rooms were in luxury and full service, while midscale represented about 5% of pipeline growth.
She said fees per room in 2025 grew slightly year over year despite a relatively low RevPAR environment and growth into midscale. Total fees per room are growing “meaningfully” year over year, primarily because of an increase in credit card-related fees.
Marriott’s outlook excludes any impact from renegotiated U.S. co-brand credit card agreements, Mason said. She said the company expects additional upside once deals are signed, though the full impact would come after cards are relaunched. She also said credit card fees have historically been less cyclical than hotel fees, though they remain influenced by the broader macroeconomic environment and consumer health.
On costs, Mason said Marriott will continue to focus on keeping general and administrative expenses low relative to its growth trajectory to support operating leverage. If RevPAR were to decline in a recession or downturn, she said the company would look at projects it could stop and other ways to constrain G&A, though the line is not purely variable.
Technology and AI Investments
Mason said Marriott is in the midst of a broad technology transformation across reservations, property management and loyalty systems. She said key performance indicators include revenue upside from improved merchandising, better conversion on Marriott’s website and app, intent-to-recommend scores, reduced front-desk workload and shorter training times for associates. Marriott has deployed the new systems at more than 1,000 properties, with the rollout continuing for at least another year.
On artificial intelligence, Mason said Marriott is launching conversational search on Marriott.com and the Bonvoy app, partnering with Google on AI Mode, working with OpenAI in an ad pilot program and launching a Marriott ChatGPT app. She said the company wants to influence the evolution of AI-driven distribution while continuing to encourage direct bookings.
Asked to identify the biggest AI opportunity, Mason pointed to distribution. She said AI tools could help Marriott redefine distribution, support more direct bookings and potentially create cost savings for owners if new channels prove less expensive than existing online travel agency models.
About Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR)
Marriott International is a global lodging company that develops, manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Its core activities include hotel and resort management, franchise operations, property development and the provision of centralized services such as reservations, marketing and loyalty program management. The company’s brand architecture spans market segments from luxury and premium to select-service and extended-stay, enabling it to serve a wide range of business and leisure travelers as well as corporate and group customers.
The company traces its roots to the hospitality business founded by J.
