Marriott International today reported more than a 20 percent decline in revenue per available room and double-digit percentage rate drops for its upper-tier properties in North America during the second quarter of 2009.
Compared with the second quarter of 2008, worldwide RevPAR fell by 23.6 percent systemwide. A mixture of the economy and swine flu concern hit hotels outside of North America particularly hard, as international company-operated RevPAR was down 31.5 percent and average daily rate down 22.3 percent for the quarter.
In North America, systemwide RevPAR was down 21.2 percent. The company's upper upscale and luxury brands suffered the steepest occupancy and rate declines for the region.
The Ritz-Carlton brand in North America saw its RevPAR drop by 31.4 percent, its occupancy down by 13.9 percent and its rate down by 16.1 percent. The Marriott, Renaissance and Courtyard brands also saw rates fall by double-digit percentages, and rates for the company overall were down by 12.6 percent in North America in the second quarter.
Marriott opened 62 properties during the quarter, adding 8,462 rooms to its portfolio. Its pipeline now stands at about 110,000 rooms either under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development, according to the company.
For the full year, Marriott now expects RevPAR to decline in the 17 percent to 20 percent range both in North America and internationally. This also is in line with the revised forecast for the U.S. lodging industry issued by Smith Travel Research last week
(BTNonline, July 8).