Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' corporate credit rating on Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott International Inc. reflects our assessment of the company's business risk profile as "strong" and our assessment of the company's financial risk profile as "significant," according to our criteria. Our assessment of Marriott's business profile as strong is based on its sizable, good-quality system of hotels targeting multiple price points, its experienced management team, its focus on managing and franchising hotels rather than on ownership, favorable long-term demographic trends and increasing travel patterns across the world, and a geographically diversified portfolio of quality brands. These factors are tempered by the cyclical nature of lodging and the revenue and cash flow variability Marriott experienced during the last downturn, and the
