Marriott announces plans to open more than 1,700 hotels by 2021

The hotel group plans to add between 275,000 and 295,000 rooms by 2021, supported by the strength of its record 478,000-room pipeline, including roughly 214,000 rooms already under construction.

The group said its new room openings during this period could contribute $400m (£303m) in fee revenue in 2021.

Arne Sorenson, Marriott International’s president and chief executive officer, said: “Starwood [the hotel group acquired by Marriott in 2016] has made us a more formidable competitor, providing a more valuable loyalty program, brands with strong appeal to loyalty members and owners, talented associates, terrific locations, particularly in the fast-growing Asia Pacific region, significant cost synergies and meaningful scale.”

Leeny Oberg, Marriott International’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, added: “Our new three-year plan, with Starwood fully integrated, demonstrates how our fee-based, asset-light business model generates even stronger and more sustainable cash flows. This allows us to invest profitably in our core business at high rates of return and also return significant amounts of capital to shareholders. Our proven business model combined with opportunities to leverage our significant scale from the Starwood acquisition uniquely position us for additional shareholder value creation.”