How Marriott Became the World’s Largest Hotel Chain

Marriott International today stands as the world’s largest hotel company, with over 9,600 properties and roughly 1.736 million rooms across more than 30 brands in 143 countries. Its rise from a single root beer stand in Washington D.C. (1927) to a global lodging empire reflects a deliberate strategy of brand diversification, savvy acquisitions, an asset-light franchise model, and technology-driven customer loyalty. Below we trace Marriott’s key milestones and strategic moves, from early expansions to the blockbuster Starwood merger, that have shaped its dominant position in hospitality.

Early Roots: From Root Beer to the First Marriott Hotel

Marriott began not in lodging but in food service. In 1927, J. Willard “J.W.” Marriott and his wife Alice opened a modest A&W root beer stand in Washington, D.C., named Hot Shoppes. By 1953 Hot Shoppes, Inc. was a public company, and thirty years after founding his first business, J.W. Marriott launched the company’s first hotel. In January 1957 the Twin Bridges Motor Hotel opened in Arlington, Virginia – a 370-room motel with an adjacent Hot Shoppes restaurant – marking Marriott’s entry into the hotel industry. This Arlington hotel established Marriott as a lodging operator. Encouraged by its success (the Key Bridge Motor Hotel in Rosslyn opened in 1959), Marriott continued expanding its hotel arm while still running restaurants.

In the 1960s and 1970s Marriott shifted increasingly toward lodging. The company’s first international hotel – the Hotel Paraiso on Acapulco Bay, Mexico – opened in 1969. By 1975 Marriott opened its first European hotel, in Amsterdam. These moves signaled Marriott’s ambition beyond the U.S. domestic market. (Marriott also briefly diversified into related areas: airline catering, cruise lines, and even theme parks in the 1970s, but ultimately refocused on lodging.)

By the early 1980s Marriott’s hotel business had grown substantially. In 1981 the 100th Marriott hotel – the Maui Marriott Resort in Hawaii – opened with fanfare. That same decade, Marriott expanded its offerings with new brands targeting different customers. In 1983 the company launched Courtyard by Marriott, a mid-range hotel chain “designed by business travelers for business travelers”. In 1984 Marriott introduced its Honored Guest Awards loyalty program, and opened the first JW Marriott hotel in Washington, D.C., a luxury property named after the founder. These early moves – new brands and rewards programs – foreshadowed Marriott’s later strategy of developing a wide portfolio of distinct hotel brands and fostering customer loyalty.

Expanding Brands and Segments

Through the 1980s and 1990s, Marriott rapidly built out brands across market segments. It entered extended-stay and economy lodging in 1987 by acquiring Residence Inn (an extended-stay chain) and opening its first Fairfield Inn (economy segment). By stepping into budget lodging, Marriott could grow its hotel count quickly. It also launched other midscale brands (e.g. SpringHill Suites in 1998, TownePlace Suites in 1997) and luxury/lifestyle concepts (e.g. Ritz-Carlton partnership in 1995). Between 1981 and 1989 Marriott grew from its 100th to 500th hotel (Warsaw Marriott, 1989), showing strong domestic and international expansion.

Critically, Marriott’s growth hinged on an asset-light, franchise-and-management model rather than owning hotels outright. After 1993, Marriott International – the company that manages and franchises hotels – was separated from Host Marriott (which owns hotel real estate). This allowed Marriott to collect fees and royalties by franchising its brand names to hotel owners worldwide, rather than tying up capital in property. Indeed, of the roughly 9,361 properties noted in company profiles, only 51 are both owned and managed by Marriott; over 7,190 are franchised under Marriott brands. This “fee-based” approach fuelled rapid global scale: at one point Marriott operated or franchised about one of every five new U.S. hotel rooms built.

A Pioneer in Technology and Loyalty

Marriott distinguished itself early by embracing technology. In April 1995 it became the first hotel company to offer online reservation booking. This ahead-of-the-curve move made it easier for travelers to book Marriott hotels and streamlined reservation operations. Over time Marriott continued integrating new tech for guest convenience: for example, launching mobile check-in and “digital key” via the Marriott Bonvoy smartphone app to let guests unlock rooms with their phones. In 2019, Marriott unified its loyalty programs into Marriott Bonvoy, merging Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest into one program. Bonvoy now has over 120 million members and spans Marriott’s entire portfolio (120+ countries), turning the company’s vast brand array into a single rewards ecosystem.

Marriott’s focus on loyalty and digital engagement pays off: the Bonvoy platform (with members earning extra points per stay) encourages repeat visits across Marriott’s 30+ brands. Robust loyalty is a key strategic asset, helping Marriott capture travel spending and cross-sell guests between its flagship hotels, luxury resorts, and economy chains.

Strategic Acquisitions: Building Scale and Brands

Marriott’s growth story is also marked by astute acquisitions. Its first big luxury move came in 1995, when Marriott bought a 49% stake in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company for about $200 million, gaining nearly a dozen luxury properties. By 1998 it acquired the rest of Ritz-Carlton, firmly entrenching itself in the ultra-luxury segment. In 1997 Marriott acquired the Renaissance Hotel Group (including Marriott’s management of Ramada and Embassy Suites brands), adding over 2,000 hotels globally and a strong presence in Europe, Asia, and South America. These deals instantly expanded Marriott’s portfolio and international footprint.

In the mid-2010s, Marriott embarked on still larger deals. In 2014 it bought Protea Hospitality Holdings – Africa’s biggest hotel operator – nearly doubling Marriott’s presence in the Middle East and Africa to ~23,000 rooms. Protea’s addition (10,148 rooms in seven African countries) made Marriott the largest hotel company on the African continent. But the crown-jewel acquisition was Starwood Hotels & Resorts. In late 2015 Marriott announced a $13 billion takeover of Starwood (after beating a rival bid), closing the deal in September 2016. This merger created the world’s largest hotel company, with over 5,700 properties, 1.1 million rooms and 30 brands. Starwood brought Marriott dozens of international brands – including Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, St. Regis, Le Méridien, and Aloft – and a strong global presence (about 75% of Starwood’s revenue was outside the U.S.). In one stroke, Marriott leapfrogged competitors and locked in leadership by scale.

After Starwood, Marriott continued refining its portfolio. For example, in 2018-2019 it acquired Elegant Hotels (a Barbados resort operator) and accelerated development of its lifestyle brands (AC Hotels, Moxy, Edition, Aloft, etc.). In April 2025 Marriott announced it would acquire the Dutch citizenM lifestyle brand for $355 million, adding 36 cool urban hotels (and more under construction) to its lineup. Each such deal extends Marriott’s reach in lucrative segments and urban markets.

Franchise Model and Brand Portfolio

A core of Marriott’s strategy has been its franchise-based, management model. Instead of owning hotel buildings, Marriott’s main business is to license its brand names and standards to independent owners. Franchisees and owners benefit from Marriott’s global sales/marketing, loyalty program, and operating expertise, while Marriott collects fees and earns revenue per booking. This “asset-light” model minimizes capital risk and enables ultra-fast growth. Indeed, the 2013 Marriott investor release highlighted that Marriott signed “more than one hotel project per day” that year. By focusing on management contracts and franchising, Marriott scaled to nearly 10,000 hotels worldwide with relatively modest direct investment in real estate.

The result is an enormous brand portfolio that covers virtually every market segment. Marriott now markets 30+ distinct brands (from ultra-luxury to economy). Its luxury collection includes Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, JW Marriott, Edition and The Luxury Collection; its premium full-service hotels include Marriott Hotels, Sheraton, Westin and Le Méridien. On the more affordable side it has Tribute Collection, SpringHill Suites, Fairfield Inn, Courtyard, TownPlace and Fairfield by Marriott. It also operates long-stay and suite brands (Residence Inn, TownePlace, Homes & Villas by Marriott) and lifestyle/compact brands (Aloft, Moxy, AC Hotels, MOXY by Marriott, Gaylord Resorts, etc.). No matter a traveler’s budget or taste – business traveler, family vacationer, luxury seeker or millennial – Marriott has a brand to match. This breadth is a strategic strength: it allows cross-selling through Marriott Bonvoy and buffers the company against downturns in any one segment.

By comparison, Marriott now far exceeds other hotel companies in scale. For context, the table below compares Marriott’s size and brand portfolio to other major global chains:

This table illustrates Marriott’s industry leadership. (Hilton, for example, has about 8,800 properties and 24 brands.) Only Marriott and Wyndham approach around 9,000+ hotels; other major chains like IHG, Accor or Hyatt have fewer. Marriott’s massive global footprint and brand count give it unmatched distribution and consumer reach.

Technology and Loyalty Integration

Behind the scenes, Marriott has invested heavily in technology to unite this vast business. Early online booking (1995) improved revenue capture, while data-driven marketing and yield-management systems optimize pricing across brands. The Marriott Bonvoy app now allows mobile check-in, digital key access, and one-tap booking across all brands, enhancing guest convenience. The company also uses customer data from its loyalty program to tailor promotions and expand partnerships (e.g. co-branded credit cards, event experiences, F1 racing and entertainment sponsorships).

Marriott’s loyalty program itself is a unifying force. With some 120 million members, Bonvoy generates a predictable stream of repeat business. Marriott has even created “Moments” experiences (unique events and excursions redeemable by points) to strengthen the brand’s reach beyond hotels. By centralizing loyalty under one roof, Marriott turns guests of any one brand into potential customers for its entire portfolio. This tech-enabled loyalty was a key motive for the Starwood acquisition – it brought SPG’s 22 million members into Marriott’s fold – and continues to shape strategy (the recent CitizenM deal, for instance, cites “consolidation … to grow loyalty).

Becoming No. 1: The Starwood Merger and Aftermath

The 2016 merger with Starwood was the defining moment in Marriott’s climb. It instantly made Marriott the largest chain on earth: combining Sheratons and Courtyards, W’s and Westins, and Alofts under one flag. Marriott leveraged this scale in many ways: by merging the brands seamlessly (all under Marriott management and the Bonvoy program), by streamlining operations (e.g. centralizing reservation systems), and by negotiating stronger purchasing power with suppliers. The enlarged portfolio also raised competitive barriers, making Marriott ubiquitous in markets around the world.

Post-merger, Marriott continued to integrate and build. In 2019 it introduced the unified Bonvoy loyalty platform, effectively melding the Marriott and Starwood customer bases. It also spun off and sold some older assets (for example, selling its timeshare spinoff and vacation club businesses). By 2025 Marriott remains acquisitive: it has acquired boutique and lifestyle brands (Postcard Cabins, TrailBorn, Sonder partnership, etc.) and, as noted, citizenM. Each acquisition targets younger travelers and niche markets, keeping Marriott relevant in changing travel trends.

Marriott vs. the Competition

Marriott’s franchise-based model contrasts with how some competitors operate. Hilton and IHG, for example, also use mostly franchising but have fewer brands and rooms; Accor’s empire is stronger in Europe (with a record 45 brands) but it has roughly 5,600 hotels – far below Marriott’s count. Hyatt has invested heavily in lifestyle brands (Dream, Joie de Vivre, etc.) but remains much smaller (about 1,300 hotels). Wyndham, long focused on economy and midscale lodging, has the world’s largest franchised network by hotel count (over 9,300 hotels), but its rooms (907,000) and loyalty base are still smaller than Marriott’s. In summary, Marriott’s strategy of unifying a broad brand family under one powerful loyalty scheme and globally expanding through partnerships has given it an unparalleled scale advantage over rivals.

Conclusion

From the Twin Bridges Motor Hotel in 1957 to a global network of more than 9,600 hotels in 2025, Marriott’s climb has been driven by smart, disciplined strategy. Key milestones – launching new brands in the 1980s, spinning off into Marriott International (1993), pioneering online reservations (1995), acquiring Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Protea and Starwood, and integrating all loyalty under Marriott Bonvoy (2019) – each expanded Marriott’s scope and appeal. The company’s franchise-and-management model enabled rapid expansion with lower capital expenditure, while a growing brand portfolio let it capture every traveler segment. Today Marriott continues to innovate (adopting digital keys, AI customer tools, co-working concepts, etc.) and to add new brands, ensuring its leadership endures.

By 2025, Marriott’s story is one of constant reinvention and scale: a humble root-beer stand turned hospitality titan, built through brands, loyalty, and global ambition. Its trajectory shows how strategic acquisitions, a broad product lineup, and tech-enabled guest engagement can propel a company to the top of the global hotel industry.