Marriott International, Inc.’s MAR The Ritz-Carlton announced its debut in Suzhou, a historic city nestled in China's Jiangsu province near Shanghai.

This footprint expansion bodes well for Marriott’s luxury brand’s market penetration in the global market.

What is Marriott’s Suzhou Property Offering?

Featuring 190 spacious guest rooms and suites, The Ritz-Carlton, Suzhou offers 57 luxurious suites emanating the essence of modern Chinese aesthetics. Moreover, The Ritz-Carlton Suite offers an open terrace with views of the lush Gusu District’s cityscape and Suzhou's iconic gardens.

Other amenities include the iconic Ritz-Carlton Club; four restaurants and bars including Alkanna, Alkanna Bar, Feng Pan Ting and Biao Xia, offering the region's vibrant food culture; a 24-hour fitness center and a 143 square meter swimming pool along with four well-appointed event spaces including a spacious grand ballroom.

Designed by the KPF Architects, The Ritz-Carlton, Suzhou is surrounded by various tourist attractions including the Lingering Garden, Xiyuan Temple and Shantang Street. The conveyance is convenient with the property located near the city's metro line and three kilometers away from the Suzhou Railway Station.

Marriott on an Expansion Spree

Marriott is a leading company in the luxury and lifestyle space, which includes brands that own nearly 9,361 properties in 144 countries and territories as of 2024-end. With an extensive portfolio and strong brand position, its extensive focus on expanding its presence worldwide and capitalizing on the demand for hotels in international markets is encouraging.

In 2024, Marriott expanded its portfolio with net room growth of 6.8%, adding 109,000 rooms globally. This increase strengthened its presence across key markets, bringing the global total to more than 1.71 million rooms. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, the company’s development pipeline totaled 3,766 hotels with approximately 577,000 rooms, with more than 229,000 rooms being under construction. Notably, this hotel company is mainly trying to strengthen its presence outside the United States, especially in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

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Shares of this worldwide hospitality company focused on lodging management and franchising have lost 13.8% so far this year compared with the Zacks Hotels and Motels industry’s 10.2% decline. Although a weak domestic leisure demand trend in Greater China is off-putting, its focus on the expansion of its diversified portfolio globally is expected to foster growth in the upcoming period.

MAR’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Marriott currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Here are some better-ranked stocks from the Consumer Discretionary sector.

Sportradar Group AG SRAD currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.

SRAD has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 83.3%, on average. The stock has surged 83.3% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SRAD’s 2025 sales and earnings per share (EPS) implies growth of 15.7% and 94.7%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. LTH presently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. LTH has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 21.6%, on average. The stock has soared 115% in the past year.

The consensus estimate for LTH’s 2025 sales and EPS implies growth of 12.9% and 37.9%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. RICK currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. RICK has a trailing four-quarter negative earnings surprise of 62.9%, on average. The stock has lost 17.8% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RICK’s fiscal 2025 sales and EPS indicates an increase of 2.5% and 1,278.8%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

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Marriott International, Inc. (MAR) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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