Marriott now has hotels in every Australian state and territory

Despite the cost-of-living crisis, Marriott International had a record-breaking 2024 and its Fiji resort was the shining light.

Marriott International area vice-president ANZP Jason Nuell says Fiji has been a record breaker for the company.

Despite the cost-of-living crisis Marriott International has had a record-breaking 2024, with Fiji the standout performer in this region and the hotelier in negotiations to sign another 20 hotels across Australia and New Zealand.

Marriott International area vice-president for ANZP Jason Nuell said there was a more than 12 per cent increase in revenue per available room in the fourth quarter across its Asia-Pacific (excluding China) hotels led by growth in the corporate sector and group bookings.

But Fiji with its Sheraton Nadi and Marriott Momi Bay resorts achieved the highest revenue per available room in the history of Marriott’s presence in Fiji last year.

Overwater bures at the Marriott Marriott Momi Bay, Nadi break the hotelier’s Fiji records

Globally, Marriott manages 9300 hotels and added another 133,000 rooms last year.

With record annual deals and room signings, the company’s APEC region added more than 21,000 rooms to its development pipeline in 2024, driven by the conversion of office blocks and multi-unit agreement strategies with India, Japan and Indonesia the highest growth markets.

“Our strategy is to make sure we have product where people want to travel,” Mr Nuell said.

“So we are expanding into secondary cities and looking at regional opportunities.

“Forty per cent of our signings are conversions, which are from existing hotels or could be from an office building. You will see that in markets like Auckland.”

With the recent opening of a property in Darwin there is now a Marriott in every Australian state and territory, and according to Mr Nuell the hotelier will concentrate on secondary markets to open further Marriott hotels.

It also hopes to retain its management of the Sheraton Marina Mirage on the Gold Coast, which will soon undergo a major renovation at the hands of its new owners the Laundy and Karedis families.

“It’s obviously an iconic large hotel, and it’s one of the closest with beach access on the Gold Coast,” Mr Nuell said, adding that Marriott had recently opened the Marriott Adelaide.

He acknowledged that the listed Flight Centre and Helloworld which delivered their half-year results last week had not fared as well as usual.

Helloworld’s first-half net profit was down 32.4 per cent to $10.8m after transaction volumes fell 6.9 per cent to $2.1bn, with the travel agency blaming the challenging fiscal environment and cost-of-living increases.

The Adelaide Marriott Hotel, which recently opened in the South Australian capital

Although Mainland Chinese tourists are yet to return to Australia in big numbers, Mr Newell said he was buoyed by a recent global survey that revealed that 46 per cent of high net worth Americans said they intended to visit Australia this year.

Marriott’s resort beachfront rooms in Fiji.

“With us we continue to see the growth in the group from the corporate market,” Mr Newell said.

“You are seeing the return post-Covid, that is where we are seeing our growth.

“Group and corporate has come back strongly post-Covid.”

Originally published as Marriott now has hotels in every Australian state and territory