Marriott International

American multinational hospitality company operating 30+ hotel brands including Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Sheraton, Westin, and W Hotels, with over 9,000 properties worldwide.

Company Type

public

Founded

1927

Headquarters

Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Stock

NASDAQ: MAR

Revenue

approximately $24.1 billion (FY2024)

Employees

Approximately 418,000

Primary Market

Global

sustainable hospitalityenvironmental compliancecommunity investment

About Marriott International

What does Marriott International own?
Marriott International owns and operates more than 30 hotel brands across luxury, premium, and select-service segments, including The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, W Hotels, JW Marriott, Marriott Hotels, Sheraton, Westin, Courtyard, Fairfield, Residence Inn, and Moxy. The company operates more than 9,000 properties in 141 countries. Marriott also owns the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program with 210+ million members.

Is Marriott International publicly traded?
Yes, Marriott International, Inc. is listed on NASDAQ under ticker MAR. The company has been publicly traded since 1953. The Marriott family retains a significant stake. Major institutional shareholders include Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street.

Who founded Marriott International?
Marriott was founded by J. Willard Marriott and his wife Alice Marriott, who opened a root beer stand in Washington, D.C. in 1927. The company entered the hotel business in 1957. J. Willard Marriott handed leadership to his son Bill Marriott in 1972. Marriott International was created in 1993 when Marriott Corporation split into two companies.

Where is Marriott International headquartered?
Marriott International is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, near Washington, D.C. The company operates more than 9,000 properties in 141 countries and territories worldwide.

How many hotels does Marriott operate?
As of early 2026, Marriott operates more than 9,000 properties across 30+ brands in 141 countries and territories. The company has a development pipeline of thousands of additional hotels under construction or in planning. Marriott's portfolio spans luxury resorts, business hotels, extended-stay properties, and budget hotels.

Who owns Marriott International?
Marriott International, Inc. is publicly traded on NASDAQ with a broad institutional and retail shareholder base. The Marriott family retains a significant but non-controlling stake. Major institutional shareholders include Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street. Anthony Capuano serves as President and CEO and David Marriott chairs the board.

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History of Marriott International

J. Willard Marriott and his wife Alice Marriott opened a root beer stand in Washington, D.C. in 1927, which grew into a chain of Hot Shoppes restaurants. The company entered the hotel business in 1957 when it opened its first hotel, the Twin Bridges Motor Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.

Marriott Corporation went public in 1953. The company grew through the 1960s and 1970s, expanding its hotel portfolio and restaurant businesses. J. Willard Marriott handed leadership to his son Bill Marriott in 1972.

In 1993, Marriott Corporation split into two companies: Marriott International (hotel management and franchising) and Host Marriott (real estate). This split established the asset-light model that has defined Marriott's business ever since.

Marriott's most transformative acquisition was Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide in 2016 for approximately $13.6 billion. The acquisition added Starwood's portfolio of brands including Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, St. Regis, Le Meridien, and Four Points, making Marriott the world's largest hotel company. The Starwood acquisition also brought the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) loyalty program, which was merged with Marriott Rewards to form Marriott Bonvoy in 2019.

In 2018, Marriott disclosed a massive data breach affecting the Starwood guest reservation database, exposing the personal information of up to 500 million guests. The breach, which had begun before Marriott's acquisition of Starwood, was one of the largest data breaches in history.

For full-year 2024, Marriott reported revenue of approximately $24.1 billion. The company has continued expanding its portfolio through new hotel openings and brand extensions, with a particular focus on luxury and lifestyle brands.

Controversy, Regulation & Public Scrutiny

The 2018 Starwood data breach was the most significant controversy in Marriott's recent history. The breach exposed the personal information of up to 500 million guests from the Starwood reservation database, including passport numbers, payment card information, and other sensitive data. Marriott paid approximately $52 million to settle investigations by US state attorneys general and the UK Information Commissioner's Office.

Marriott has also faced criticism regarding its loyalty program practices, including devaluations of Marriott Bonvoy points and changes to elite status benefits that some members viewed as unfavorable.