Marriott reports 3.6% rise in Q1 global revpar
The world's largest hotel group Marriott International has reported a 3.6% increase in global revenue per available room (revpar) in its financial results for the first quarter of 2018.
The strongest result came from outside North America with a revpar rise of 7.5%, compared to 2% growth within the continent.
Total reported net income was up 7% year on year to $398m (£293m), with an 8% increase in EBITDA compared to the first quarter of 2017.
Meanwhile, Marriott signed contracts for nearly 20,000 new rooms between January and March, taking the group's development pipeline to a new record of nearly 465,000 rooms.
Arne Sorenson, president and chief executive of Marriott International, said: "According to STR, the number of luxury and upper-upscale rooms in our pipeline at the end of the first quarter exceeded that of our next three global competitors combined.
"We remain focused on delivering outstanding profit growth, while maximizing shareholder returns. Year-to-date through 8 May, we have already returned $1.2b (£844m) to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases and believe we could return at least $3 (£2.2b) in 2018."
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