International drives Marriott’s Q4 RevPAR gains
RevPAR in Q4 grew 6% internationally and dropped 0.1% in the U.S. and Canada. For full-year 2025, Marriott saw 2% RevPAR growth, with 5.1% growth internationally and a 0.7% increase in the U.S. and Canada.
Net unit growth was 4.3% year-over-year for the full year 2025, with approximately 1,200 development deals and about 163,000 rooms signed globally, of which over 30% were conversions.
Marriott also issued full-year 2026 guidance, including worldwide RevPAR growth of 1.5-2.5% and net unit growth of 4.5-5%. The guidance also included 2026 gross fee revenue growth of $5.895-5.955 billion and adjusted EBITDA growth of 8-10%.
R.W. Baird analyst Michael Bellisario said Marriott’s earnings were incrementally positive on the better than expected international performance.
“All the focus will be on Marriott's 2026 guidance, in our view, which is well above Baird/Street expectations, particularly gross fee revenues and adjusted EBITDA (both +3% versus estimates). The upside variance is due to better co-branded credit card fees from higher assumed spending and a higher royalty rate earned (not from incremental economics due to a renewal, negotiations for which remain ongoing, according to Marriott).”
Analyst Patrick Scholes of Truist Securities said his company sees upside in Marriott’s earnings primarily from the announcement of its 35% YOY growth in co-branded credit card fees.
“[This is] a material acceleration from what we believe was a high-single digit growth rate of the past two years and this without an announced new credit card deal,” he said.
Marriott President and CEO Anthony Capuano said domestic RevPAR was stagnant in Q4 primarily because of the extended government shutdown’s effect on the business transient segment, while international RevPAR benefited primarily from overperformance in luxury and solid leisure transient and cross-border travel in EMEA and Asia Pacific.
“During the fourth quarter, we completed the integration of the citizenM portfolio, adding 37 hotels and nearly 8,800 rooms to our system,” he said. “We marked the opening of the first 37 Series by Marriott hotels in India and expanded the brand into the U.S. and Canada, with its first two properties opening just months after the brand’s regional debut.”
Other Q4 results
- 2025 net unit growth of 4.3% included roughly 73,600 net rooms added during the year, including approximately 51,600 net rooms in international markets. At the end of 2025, Marriott’s global system totaled over 9,800 properties, with nearly 1,780,000 rooms.
- At the end of 2025, Marriott’s development pipeline totaled 4,056 properties with nearly 610,000 rooms, including 234 properties with over 35,000 rooms approved for development, but not yet subject to signed contracts. The pipeline included 1,648 properties with nearly 265,000 rooms under construction, including hotels in the process of converting to Marriott.
- Franchise and base management fees totaled $1.186 million in Q4, a 5% increase YOY, which was primarily driven by rooms growth, RevPAR increases and higher co-branded credit card fees.
- Incentive management fees totaled $239 million in Q4, compared to $206 million in the 4Q24, driven by significant YOY increases in the U.S. & Canada. Managed hotels in international markets contributed roughly two-thirds of the incentive fees earned in the quarter.
- Owned, leased, and other revenue, net of owned, leased, and other expenses, totaled $41 million in Q4, compared to $72 million in 4Q24, including $23 million of expenses related to the termination of Marriott’s licensing agreement with Sonder Holdings Inc.
- General and administrative expenses in Q4 totaled $241 million, compared to $261 million in 4Q24, primarily driven by lower compensation costs and litigation expenses.
LOS ANGELES — Hilton has enjoyed a period of outsize net unit growth — perhaps the most meaningful metric for Wall Street analysts and investors looking at hotel brands.
Hilton reported 6.7% net unit growth in 2025. While that number is impressive, it should be sustainable, Hilton's Chief Development Officer Christian Charnaux said. That's because in the current hospitality development environment, so much of the unopened pipeline features Hilton hotel brands.
"One out of five rooms under construction in the world is going to be joining our system," Charnaux said during an interview at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit. "That's 20%, that's off of a basis that right now our market share is 5%. So you think about the the ability to grow that 5% to 6%, 7%, 8%, whatever it may be, plus the addressable market globally. If you think about middle-class formation and the propensity of folks to travel more and more, the pie is growing, right? So [we're] taking a larger and larger share of a growing pie."
Charnaux spent nearly a decade with Hilton before leaving and taking over as chief growth officer for restaurant company Inspire Brands. Upon returning to Hilton midway through 2025, he said he returned from what he called a "sabbatical" with a fresh perspective on the hotel business.
"It is a increased appreciation of the competitive strengths [Hilton] has, and making sure that we are actively deploying those strengths for our owners to drive their returns around the world," he said. "And I would say it's also that if you look at the individual pieces that we were putting together at Inspire, the template for it, in many ways, was Hilton. We were aspiring to be a multi-brand company, tightly integrated with commercial engines that drive out performance for franchisees and their returns and therefore their growth."
Some segments have evolved significantly in Charnaux's time away from the hotel industry, particularly with the increased focus on luxury and lifestyle hotels and more growth in residential both with branded residences and brands such as Hilton's Apartment Collection by Hilton.
The recently reopened Waldorf Astoria New York — which was closed nearly a decade for major renovations — is in many ways emblematic of both the transformation of luxury and the focus on branded residential. The property scaled down from 1,416 rooms to 375 and repurposed space for luxury condos, he said.
"First of all, it's a much smaller hotel," he said. "A 1,400-key luxury hotel, given the realities of labor and other input costs, doesn't make sense. So shrinking it down to a hotel where it does make operation or economic sense was a big part of that. We have branded residential as a strategic focus now. ... I think it's indicative of the economic model that in many markets is required for luxury to work."
For the rest of the interview with Hilton's Christian Charnaux, watch the video above or listen to the audio-only podcast version.
The Baird Hotel Stock Index — which comprises 20 of the largest hotel brand companies and real estate investment trusts publicly traded on a U.S. stock exchange by market capitalization — rose 1.7% in January from December.
The S&P 500 — an indicator of the health of the broader economy — increased 1.4% during the month.
“Hotel stocks started the year in positive territory, and both the global hotel brands and hotel REITs were up 2% and performed similarly to their respective benchmarks,” said Michael Bellisario, senior research analyst and managing director at Baird. “Within the hotel REITs, the full-service-focused stocks outperformed the select-service-focused stocks, while performance within the global hotel brands was divergent across chain scale exposures. Looking ahead to companies’ initial 2026 outlooks, investor expectations have been tempered a bit post-ALIS Conference, but the consensus view remains that industry-wide [revenue per available room] growth will be slightly positive in 2026.”
The RMZ, or MSCI U.S. REIT Index — which is a gauge of the overall real estate investment market — rose 2.9% in January.
The hotel brand sub-index rose 1.6% in January, while the hotel REIT sub-index increased by 2%.
Year over year, Hilton finished in first place with its stock up 16.6% in January. At the other end, Ashford Hospitality Trust's stock was down 50.7% year over year during the first month of 2026.
For more information about the Hotel Stock Index, email hotelstockindex@rwbaird.com. The Baird Hotel Stock Index and sub-indices are available exclusively on CoStar News Hotels. The indices were created by Robert W. Baird & Co. (Baird). The market-cap-weighted, price-only indices comprise 20 of the largest market-capitalization hotel companies publicly traded on a U.S. exchange and attempt to characterize the performance of hotel stocks. The Index and sub-indices are maintained by Baird and hosted on Hotel News Now, are not actively managed, and no direct investment can be made in them. As of 30 June 2021, the companies that comprised the Baird Hotel Stock Index included: Apple Hospitality REIT, Ashford Hospitality Trust, Chatham Lodging Trust, Choice Hotels International, DiamondRock Hospitality Company, Hersha Hospitality Trust, Hilton Inc., Host Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International, Park Hotels & Resorts, Inc., Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, RLJ Lodging Trust, Ryman Hospitality Properties, Service Properties Trust, Summit Hotel Properties, Sunstone Hotel Investors, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, and Xenia Hotels & Resorts.
Hotel restaurants are leaning into local cuisine and creating experiences with their dishes more than ever before, in part to make up for the rising costs of food.
Greater personalization and shared plates are among the leading trends at food-and-beverage outlets this year, according to experts in the field.
Steve Palmer, founder, managing partner and chief vision officer of Charleston, South Carolina-based The Indigo Road Hospitality Group, said personalized guest experiences are a continuing trend in hotel food and beverage.
"The more intentional F&B operators are about recognizing those special guests, the greater the return on investment," he said.
On the culinary side, food-and-beverage directors and chefs are leaning into smaller dishes to give guests the chance to try several different options without breaking the bank.
Adam Korbel, executive chef at the NOPSI Hotel, New Orleans, said instead of serving one entree that costs $30, the hotel is rolling out menus with small plates at about $10 each. These small plates include miniature po' boys, sliders and chicken sandwiches on a biscuit with country gravy.
This pays dividends down to the operations as well. The NOPSI has three food-and-beverage outlets, including the Public Service Restaurant and two bars. The small plates concept meshes with all three outlets so there's more synergy between the menu items.
"I have the one menu for all three of them now instead of doing three separate menus like we were doing before. That way, we're streamlining everything, and you're able to use everything on one menu completely," Korbel said.
Matt St. Amand, director of food and beverage at the San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk and San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter on the River Walk, said his outlets have also been tooling with the idea of rolling out smaller but elevated dishes.
"People are looking for value within items," he said. "You get a taste of something that's really high-end but the price point isn't there. It's more approachable because it's a smaller portion."
Erin Reisner, director of food and beverage at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, said in an email interview that creating customizable experiences is one of the main trends she's seen of late in hotel food and beverage.
"Guests want to try more items when they are dining out, so menus with more small or shareable options is a trend to stay," she said.
Not only does this increase the value for the guests, but it also appeals to more health-conscious patrons.
"People are eating smaller portions. They're being more conscious of what they're putting into their bodies," St. Amand said.
Another trend is bringing back classic recipes from eras of a foregone time. Korbel said stews and short ribs are making a comeback into the zeitgeist.
"There's a lot of using the older, classical dishes, and for lack of a better word, zhuzhing them up, making them look nicer and using the same techniques and putting our own spins on it," he said.
Local sourcing to circumvent cost spikes
Successful food-and-beverage outlets have always incorporated ingredients and menu items that reflect the location of the hotel, so it's no surprise that the experts say it's a focus for them this year. But it's also more practical and cost-effective, too.
St. Amand said rising costs have "impacted us tremendously." It's led to his San Antonio Marriott hotels raising the prices of their menu items, which he added is an opportunity to refine the experience in a meal. For example, they make their burgers with Texas beef and have their pastry team make the buns.
"When you can tell a story to a customer, they're willing to pay that price, but it has to be good at the end of the day," he said.
Buying items from local farmers and vendors is cheaper than sourcing elsewhere, he said, especially with rising prices pinching operations and consumers alike.
"In my opinion, it's better food. If you know the source, you know the farmer, you can tell a story. It creates an experience for a customer. I think that's a win all the way around," he said.
Increased costs cause restaurants to get more creative with their menus in order to maintain margins. Luckily for the NOPSI, most patrons are looking for seafood, which the Gulf Coast provides, Korbel said.
"We use all domestic seafood here, right out the Gulf. We're not using any foreign seafood at all, and I refuse to do that because I'm a Louisiana boy and I want to make sure our people are taken care of," he said.
Price hikes following the COVID-19 pandemic had more of an effect than tariffs imposed by the U.S. last year, Korbel said. The cost of eggs and chicken rose dramatically in price back then but have since gone down, while beef remains pricy.
No matter the price of goods, Korbel said the goal is to give the consumer a good deal for the finished product in hopes of gaining a repeat customer.
"Things change with times, and when you're making your menus, you have to change with the times, too, and you've got to roll with the punches and you have to either make portions smaller or you have to find new and creative ways to do things through the cooking methods ... to make a wonderful dish," he said.
Beverage and food
There's a common adage in the hotel industry that it should be referred to as "beverage and food" rather than "food and beverage" because beverages are what really drive profits in hospitality. Palmer said he agrees with the B&F nomenclature. There are signs and surveys pointing toward people consuming less alcohol these days, but he added that even if behaviors are changing, sales remain the same.
"They might not be drinking four drinks anymore, but they're drinking two quality drinks. Even though all the metrics say that people are drinking less, we haven't seen a significant decline in sales because I think people are choosing quality ingredients," he said.
This also aligns with a major trend in the industry, especially this month: mocktails. St. Amand said the Hugo spritz has been a popular drink at his properties.
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