The recovery in guest visits, though muted, is an encouraging sign for an industry that struggled to keep hotel rooms full during the recession. But Marriott said its room rates were generally lower in the first quarter than a year earlier.
As occupancy increases, Marriott executives expect to be able to charge more and move away from price cuts made during the recession. And they boosted their full-year outlook.
"We welcomed increasing numbers of business guests to our hotels as travelers got back to work in most markets around the world," Chairman and CEO J.W. Marriott Jr. said in a statement Thursday. "At the same time, leisure demand remained solid."
For the three months that ended March 26, Marriott earned $83 million, or 22 cents per share. That compares with a loss of $23 million, or 6 cents per share, in the same period last year for the company that owns the Marriott, Renaissance and Ritz-Carlton hotel brands.
Excluding one-time costs related to restructuring from last year's first-quarter earning report, Marriott's adjusted profit slipped 5 percent.
Revenue climbed 5 percent to $2.63 billion from $2.50 billion a year earlier.
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