Marriott International has reported another record year of deals for 2024, following on from its stellar record-breaking year in 2023. This time, it scored 109 deals across 11 markets in the Asia Pacific excluding China (APEC) region – up from 80 in 2023. These deals add 21,439 rooms to the region’s development pipeline and close the year with 77,532 rooms in the pipeline ­– a 12 per cent increase over 2023.

Addressing journalists at a briefing in Singapore on February 6, Shawn Hill, chief development officer, APEC, Marriott International, said the company had achieved two milestones with 2024’s performance.

“This is the first time we have ever crossed 100 deals and 20,000 rooms in a single year,” said Hill.

Hill attributed the energetic signings to “trust and confidence” among owners and partners in Marriott International.

“Thirty-five per cent of our signings in 2024 were with existing owners and partners. They choose our brands, they believe in us, and choose us to grow with them.

“At the same time, 40 per cent of 2024 deals were conversions – owners taking their old flags and brands and converting them into Marriott brands and hotels,” he said, adding that the team was also proud of acquiring 7,000 rooms through portfolio or large multi-unit transactions.

India, Japan, and Indonesia were the biggest growth markets for the company in the region, comprising 72 per cent of the region’s deal signings in the year. These countries also saw “all-time record-high signings”.

Signings in India last year resulted in 7,000 additional rooms, followed by Japan with 5,000 rooms, and Indonesia with more than 2,000 rooms. Inventory in Vietnam (plus 2,000 rooms), Malaysia (plus 1,000 rooms) and Thailand (plus 1,000 rooms) also expanded on the back of fresh signings.

Marriott International has made growing its luxury portfolio a key focus in APEC, with 19 per cent of signed deals in 2024 belonging to this category. A record 21 agreements were signed, representing 4,600 rooms in the region across six Marriott International Luxury Group brands. These signings will result in debuts of the Edition brand in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Mumbai, India; The Ritz-Carlton in Jaipur and Udaipur, India; a second W Hotels in Singapore, and more.

Luxury properties in APEC now form a third of Marriott International’s global luxury pipeline.

Oriol Montal, managing director luxury, APEC, said the luxury travel outlook is bright due to strong spending intentions among Generation Z consumers, who have indicated in a Marriott International study that they would “put their savings on a luxury vacation before buying a luxury good”.

Montal added that Marriott International is in a leading position to respond to travel trends among high net worth individuals. These travellers are prioritising transformative adventures and experiences, and the company has gone into new areas of business that allow it to satiate these desires. Citing examples, he pointed to Marriott International’s first tented camp that opened in Kenya last year, expansion into luxury cruising with Luminara, and partnerships that bring “lifetime experiences” onto properties.

However, the hottest brand for 2024 signings was the midscale Four Points Flex by Sheraton. This was made possible by Marriott International’s portfolio deal with US private equity firm, KKR, which gave it 14 conversion projects across Japan. The first Four Points Flex by Sheraton in the deal opened in Osaka in November 2024.

“We have since gone on to sign a few extras with KKR, also for Japan,” Hill told TTG Asia, adding that Marriott International is looking to take the brand out of Japan and into South-east Asia, India and Australia.

“Four Points Flex by Sheraton is by far the number one brand for 2024 in terms of both hotel units and rooms. Number two is the Courtyard by Marriott brand, followed by Marriott, JW Marriott, and Sheraton in fifth place,” he shared.

In 2023 signings, the Fairfield by Marriott brand led the way among owners, followed by Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, and JW Marriott; The Luxury Collection and Westin tied in fifth place.

The year 2024 also saw the company entering Papua New Guinea with Marriott Executive Apartments Port Moresby and bringing the lifestyle-focused Moxy Hotels brand to more cities in APEC.

Meanwhile, the company’s loyalty programme, Marriott Bonvoy, has acquired more than 219 million members worldwide – a 60 per cent growth since 2019. John Toomey, chief commercial officer, APEC, noted that more than 70 per cent of bookings originated from the Marriott Bonvoy app in 2024.

Toomey said the programme has evolved successfully from a traditional loyalty programme into a lifestyle platform with amazing partnerships, such as with Rakuten, Gojek, and more.

He later told TTG Asia that Marriott Bonvoy is able to secure such a high level of engagement and bookings by being functional and by offering benefits that members value.

Rounding up the performance briefing, Rajeev Menon, president, APEC, Marriott International, said 2025 would bring “really good growth opportunities across South-east Asia and South Asia” despite global geopolitical challenges. This is because US and western companies are following a China-plus-one diversification strategy while China itself is aggressively investing in “our part of the world”.

Also fuelling his confidence is a “shift” in spending priorities towards travel, where even though international arrivals are not yet back to 2019 levels for some countries, tourism receipts are “at an all-time high”.