Marriott Strikes a Licensing Deal With MGM's Vegas Portfolio, as Overall Travel Demand Persists

While elevated inflation has the potential to have an impact on near-term travel demand, we expect Marriott to expand room and revenue share in the hotel industry over the next decade. In the past few years, Marriott has renovated a meaningful percentage of core Marriott and Courtyard hotels, and since 2007, has added several new brands, which support our constructive stance along with a favorable next-generation traveler position. Also, we see Marriott as having an industry-leading loyalty program, with 186 million members (as of June 30, 2023), which incentivizes third-party hotel owners to join the company's brands. Additionally, we believe the acquisition of Starwood (closed in September 2016) and partnership with MGM's Vegas portfolio (signed in June 2023) has strengthened Marriott's long-term brand advantage, as Starwood's global luxury portfolio and MGM's leading presence in the gaming mecca complement Marriott's dominant upper-scale position in North America.