Marriott Vs. Hilton: A Battle of Net Unit Growth
Skift Take
Marriott's scale and skew to slower growing segments has meant it has lagged behind its closest competitor Hilton on net unit growth for many years. Whilst its exposure to luxury historically disadvantaged growth, renewed interest in the development of luxury hotels post Covid will likely aid Marriott in bridging the unit growth gap with Hilton.
Marriott is the largest branded hotel in the world with more than 1.5 million rooms, making it 35% bigger than its closest U.S. competitor, Hilton. It has, however, grown its rooms and pipelines more slowly than Hilton for many years, with 3.2% Net Unit Growth (NUG) in 2022 vs Hilton's 4.5%, as shown in the chart below.
This is partly due to the law of large numbers - Marriott's room count being materially larger than Hilton's means that it is more difficult to sustain previous growth rates. But it is also a
