Business transient revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased 3% for Marriott International in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to executives speaking on an earnings call. They forecast an increase in the segment in the “low single digits” for 2025.
Leeny Oberg, CFO, said business transient performance last year was “very strong” and said that market would see a higher growth rate than leisure travel this year, driven more by gains in average daily rate (ADR) than occupancy.
“Business transient has recovered to 2019 levels, just in a little bit different form,” said Oberg, noting the quicker recovery of small and midsize companies than “the largest corporates.” For larger clients, she said, “you still see their nights being behind 2019 levels, although I will say that some other of those large corporates, like in the financing sector of the economy, they are actually back to more than recovered, so overall the business has recovered.”
Oberg said overall room night volume on traditional business travel days of Monday through Wednesday remains below pre-pandemic levels, though it’s balanced by higher levels on other days.
For full-year 2024, Marriott’s systemwide RevPAR increased 4.3% year over year to $128.23, while ADR grew 2.8% to $183.58 and occupancy increased 1 percentage point to 69.8%.
In the US and Canada, 2024 RevPAR grew 3% to $131.26, while ADR increased 2.4% to $187.14 and occupancy grew 0.4 percentage points to 70.1%.
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