MAR Oct 2024 195.000 put

Debt market access a challenge for hotel owners: Marriott CEO

Leisure and international travel continue to be two of the biggest drivers for Marriott International (MAR), as the hotel operator expects 3 to 5% in worldwide revenue growth and 5.5 to 6% in net growth in its full-year guidance.  Mariott International CEO and President Anthony Capuano sits down with Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi, outlining the hotel chain's expansion and conversion plans as well as how the company sees pricing and inflation fit into its 2024 forecasts. "The vast majority of our owners and franchisees are long-term investors in the sector, they understand that it's cyclical. I don't think they're hesitant because of interest rates, to be sure, that squeezes the returns. But their bigger challenge is just accessing debt," Capuano explains. "The debt markets for new hotel construction are very constricted in the US and in western Europe. There's plenty of available debt capital for existing assets, but the irony is, when you talk to these lenders, especially regional lenders, their hospitality portfolios are the best-performing assets in their commercial real estate portfolio." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.