Marriott raises full-year profit forecast on strong travel demand

Marriott International Inc raised its full-year adjusted profit forecast on Tuesday, as the US hotel operator benefits from pent-up demand for leisure and business travel.

Flexible work arrangements have fueled travel demand and helped hotel operators to improve their margins after they took a beating during the pandemic.

The travel industry has also benefited in the last few quarters from a strong US dollar.

Marriott, which owns hotels such as Sheraton, Westin and St. Regis, has seen a steady uptick in bookings, even as experts have raised concerns that high inflation and fears of an economic slowdown could dent consumer spending.

Marriott posted a 34.3% rise in its first-quarter revenue per available room, a key measure for a hotel's top-line performance, for the quarter ended March, from a year earlier on a constant currency basis.

The company expects full-year adjusted profit between $7.97 and $8.42 per share, compared with its prior forecast of $7.23 to $7.91.