Marriott International Inc.

Leisure demand has remained resilient this year despite the negative effects of the omicron variant in January and February. The company's systemwide revenue per available room (RevPAR) in first-quarter 2022 was about 19% below that of 2019. We believe leisure demand will remain strong over the next several months due to ongoing remote work arrangements and extended weekend travel, but moderate at certain leisure-focused resorts later this year. In addition, after a significant setback in occupancy, business transient and group bookings accelerated in March and April, which will likely continue as large corporations implement return-to-office plans, contribute to more midweek demand, and bring about a solid RevPAR recovery in upper-upscale full-service lodging. As of March 31, 2022, Marriott's bookings for

...Strong leisure demand and average daily rate, accelerating business transient and group bookings, and potential recovery in fees from international rooms should all boost Marriott's revenue and earnings, and help it reduce leverage in 2022. We estimate Marriott's trailing-12-months S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt to EBITDA improved to about 3.5x at the end of first-quarter 2022, which was lower than our previous base case and indicates an accelerated deleveraging path in 2022. If demand patterns continue, EBITDA growth and operating cash flow exceeding current investment spending plans will almost certainly enable Marriott to achieve its leverage target range of 3.0x-3.5x in 2022. Leisure demand has remained resilient this year despite the negative effects of the omicron variant in January and February. The company's systemwide revenue per available room (RevPAR) in first-quarter 2022 was about 19% below that of 2019. We believe leisure demand will remain strong over the next several months...

Full Report