Hyatt is smaller than its hotel chain competitors. So how did it get to be the most expensive? Watch the Economics of Hyatt: on.wsj.com/3xt9yNf How did Marriott become the largest hotel chain, with over 30 brands? Marriott’s CFO explains why this is just the beginning for the hospitality giant: on.wsj.com/3xhNqpb

@jasonk125

Ай бұрын

Why no mention of IHG? How do they stack up? What is their model?

@shailenverma959

Ай бұрын

@@jasonk125this seems to be focused on the US market, IHG is a european brand.

What a complex way of explaining that many hotels are franchisees.

@jimbojimbo6873

Ай бұрын

Its a KZread vid they need attention

@patrickl131

Ай бұрын

That’s what I was thinking

@esparda07

Ай бұрын

Can't make a long video with 1 sentence, eh?

@ninzki143

Ай бұрын

I love being a Hilton Diamond Member.. especially staying at overseas Hilton properties, you get treated like a millionaire lol

@homie7218

Ай бұрын

didn't ask lil bro ​@@ninzki143

It's funny how the CEOs of the hotel companies, who make money from selling their brand, *look* like rich people; while the MCR CEO looks like a used car salesman.

@Palaund

28 күн бұрын

He's not the owner of the properties, just the operating partner.

@WhatALoadOfTosca

28 күн бұрын

@@PalaundDidn’t the video and him say he was the owner of the properties who also operated them? The brand don’t own or operate the hotels.

@joshsantiago4397

26 күн бұрын

They want to look presentable. What’s wrong with that?

@byroncanty8986

20 күн бұрын

They are pandering to their audience and brand image. You really think the MCR CEO can't afford a suit and nice watch?

@EhCloserLook

12 күн бұрын

I’m sure those hotel executives are doing just fine.

I’ve seen a shift in Marriott hotels where the quality is inconsistent. This makes a lot of sense.

@RealShaktimaan

Ай бұрын

No it's always been like that. I know plenty of folks who own Marriott and igh hotels. It's nothing new

@newagain9964

Ай бұрын

Marriott loyalty program is inconsistent, bizarre and unsettling. I don’t like have to debate and argue with mgt. 👎

@lazynow1

Ай бұрын

@@newagain9964 ah debate and argue with mgt. is fun...then you can insult them....to their face...

@aymaanenayetullah6436

2 күн бұрын

There are certain brand standards owners have to follow in order to operate under a certain name; but yes it does become inconsistent sometimes as some owners care more about operations than others.

When I heard the CFO of Marriott say "we are the largest, 8700 hotels in 139 countries and territories, really showing expertise around the world for what we think hospitality means", I thought this meant, you know, making a nice hotel for guests. Turns out this is left to the franchisees, and what hospitality means to Marriott is figuring out how to charge as much as "the market can bear", and setting up anti-competitive loyalty programs to stop customers from shopping around outside of their flag.

@kingderpington6082

22 күн бұрын

While that true, what they also have is data to tell the franchises what attracts customers in terms of what makes a customer happy with their hotel choice, amenities, room layout/style etc.

This is why most hotels are a complete crapshoot on what you get. Very little consistency in physical product, amenities, and especially service. Breakfasts are weaker, housekeeping services reduced, loyalty recognition is greatly minimized. Not saying every chain hotel was perfect before, but ever since the pandemic and the offloading of property by the chains, the service has gone downhill at nearly every hotel I have stayed at.

@siewheilou399

Ай бұрын

❓️ Franchise system only existed post pandemic?

@ear2thestreet

Ай бұрын

That are exactly my thoughts!

@W0Rd0n32sTre3T

Ай бұрын

Yet AirBnB still managed to be worse 😂

@condor7810

Ай бұрын

polarspacebear: As the video notes, Marriott/Hilton made the decision to go "asset-lite" decades ago. The franchised hotel model dates back to the early 1970's...this was not an idea that took hold post pandemic. Your experience is not unlike any business post-pandemic...harder to find staff, etc. Not due to a dramatic shift in who owns the hotel real estate.

@polarspacebear

Ай бұрын

@@siewheilou399 I didn't say that. But they are complementary factors

Shoutout to the stock footage of random people at the Berlin-Brandenburg airport.

@16th6ToothSon_

Ай бұрын

Hahahaha

@shubhamkarbarman6028

17 күн бұрын

lol

And overtime, the marriot, hilton, etc will slowly go down hill. A fact they acknowledge within this video. When you loose control over quality standardization, it becomes inevitable that the brands reputation looses value as well.

@newagain9964

Ай бұрын

Hard to go downhill when u make up the majority of the market.

@MoneyR236

Ай бұрын

They have strict QA requirements

@mandisaw

Ай бұрын

Not necessarily. If they go the McD's route, they can impose strict standards & plenty of brand-support (design, suppliers, advice on where/how to locate, etc). The issue is that they are *also* going the Subway route - allowing way too many franchisees in smaller markets, or in close-proximity in larger markets, such that supply exceeds demand. Outsourcing the risk in this way can be good for all parties, but you have to impose some reasonable limits.

@MoneyR236

Ай бұрын

@@mandisaw everything from your second sentence still stands true. They are just trying to sell as many of their brands to owners as much as possible. As long as the hotel is making money off royalties they don’t care. Even if margins are thin for the owner. But yeah if margins are thin for the owner, it’s harder for the owner to keep up with new brand requirements and renovation cycles which require a lot of capital at times.

as a former hotel worker. the real loser here is the loyalty customers, it's literally a sign on the front door. that's it. nothing special about the hotel. use your brain, look at all hotels individually and pick what you like for a price you are willing to pay.

@sebastian3004

Ай бұрын

Yeah but people want to take a selfie in front of that Sign or they want to spit out 'I stayed at Marriott. It was so nice hehe'

I used Marriott almost exclusively for 17 years of business travel. Now that I'm retired, I've found that IHG is a much better value and the service is much more consistent. Also, as a lifetime Platinum with Marriott, I used to get upgrades quite often pre-COVID but haven't seen one since.

@nene5857

Ай бұрын

Platinum level is no longer the highest ranking tier. There is not Titanium and Ambassador, those guest receive priority upgrades over Platinum now.

@ssuwandi3240

Ай бұрын

SPG was the Top until Marriott bought it. I got 10 years of the most undisputably amazing membership with SPG. Still got the many gifts and SPG "NO BLACKOUT"points. Today that concept is hardly doable.

Time for Monopoly to update the game rules. lol

@ehochmuephi8219

Ай бұрын

Landlordgame² ;)

@RudieObias

Ай бұрын

Capitalism, amiright? 😅

I work at a Marriott trust me if your service sucks its because quality of work has been destroyed. We have been reduced to so few workers we cant keep up. They made a new building where i work at . Never hired more people. Trust me it sucks to the extremes. All of our best employees that were diamond left my Marriott and found better jobs and that was in every department btw.

@kingderpington6082

22 күн бұрын

that has nothing to do with franchising, Marriott has franchised decades ago.

@Sololeveler344

22 күн бұрын

@@kingderpington6082 this has nothing to do with what im writing

@kingderpington6082

21 күн бұрын

@@Sololeveler344 you say that while commenting on a video about Marriott franchising their business?

We seem to do a whole lot of the asset light business model here in the US. Outsourcing Manufacturing, Uber , Air BNB , Hotel ownership , Franchised Restaurants , Finance , Call centers, health insurance . Capital likes to take the path of least resistance It's no wonder other countries are growing their economies. It's just more financialization here.

@neilmckay8649

22 күн бұрын

Great insight but I don't understand how the impact comes about. Explain please

So, who do you think pays for those franchise fees?! Hotel prices have gone up astronomically over the last 5 years and the highest prices hikes are the Brands in this video. This is the same thing happening in Las Vegas with MGM and Caesars where they have sold their properties and are now paid to manage these hotels (again, prices have gone through the roof!).

@Dividendflywheel

Ай бұрын

With regards to Vegas VICI properties is the biggest casino landlord. 😊They own the buildings and MGM and others (casino operators) are tenants. Imagine being the landlord to the casino business. It’s an ingeniously profitable business model. Blackstone is getting in on the game too. With regards to Marriott, take a look at it’s stock performance.. These businesses are built for the shareholders so deploy your capital appropriately

Now I know which day to book - Sunday. Thanks for the tip.

@Trainsallday

29 күн бұрын

The only real takeaway. Weird to me because I always see Sunday as the most expensive hotel day

@bhupindertube

29 күн бұрын

@@Trainsallday Yes, it was weird to me to. But the logic is that both the leisure & business people opt out on Sundays.

Good job WSJ!! Great storytelling and very informative.

I didn't expect the hotels have such level of complexity in their business model. Maybe you can feature the nature US hospital businesses too.

4:18 i honestly travel TO destinations on Sundays 💯💯😩😩😩 i noticed flights and hotels are waaaaay cheaper on those days and i like that 😩

This is gooooood! I love these kinds of informative videos WSJ!!!

@maxjb9941

Ай бұрын

you didnt know this? LOL

@newagain9964

Ай бұрын

@@maxjb9941Americans don’t really know much…except falsities.

Marriott sucks these days. They are all the same econo box hotels below a certain category

@mack-uv6gn

Ай бұрын

😂

@RudieObias

Ай бұрын

I guess you never visit Marriott's high end luxury hotels 😅

@rehoboth_farm

Ай бұрын

They figured out how to ruin their brand while turning their business into nothing but a brand. Put a Marriott sticker on a Motel 6. Nobody can afford to travel anymore anyway.

@newagain9964

Ай бұрын

Marriott provides the most overpriced rooms and bizzare and mediocre loyalty program.

@rickrandall3174

Ай бұрын

Their post-COVID policy of only cleaning rooms once every 2 days "to protect the environment" is quite irritating.

very informative, thanks!

stumbled upon this on my recommendations, and i am impressed! i think it's common to choose a hotel you are more familiar with, especially with the trust people have if the hotel has a "by x company" because you can be in the other side of the world and can trust properties that are labeled as "by marriot, by wyndham, by hyatt," and the like

I work for a best western but it's operated by a group the manages the employees of a Hilton, best Western and a holiday inn, all within 5 miles of each other

@bonaface

Ай бұрын

and watch youtube content about marriott and hyatt?? get a life my guy!

Having worked at a hotel I can also say that the owners of hotels also hire a management company typically to staff their hotel and run it for a percentage of the revenue/profit. And a lot of times if you get awful experiences it might not be the people at those hotels but rather the terrible management and lack of or micromanaging oversight and scrutiny you’re under. The hotel industry is tough in its own way and it’s not very kind. I came from one with awful management and they were kept because the books looked good despite the work morale and culture being diminished because the management company covered it all up.

Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott don’t mean much in Australia. However Accor is massive here, but the membership systems work as we only book Accor hotels.

@wsj Here's another intriguing story worth exploring: Service Properties Trust (SVC), which you briefly highlighted. Amid the pandemic, they recognized the cost efficiency of operating under their own flag (Sonesta hotels) and not partnering with brands or other operators. Consequently, they terminated contracts with major players such as Marriott, Hilton, IHG, and Hyatt, effectively reshaping their company virtually overnight.

@piphastings6734

Ай бұрын

Great point....all of a sudden, I saw this name "Sonesta" in the past couple of years pop up.

@teasy2518

Ай бұрын

@@piphastings6734 Right! An entire hotel brand born out of a company taking advantage of the pandemic to get out of contracts with the major operators. SVC required minimium income targets to be met and of course - no one was staying at hotels during the pandemic so the brands could not afford to pay these costs and thus were in breach of contract. Hope WSJ picks this up!

Wonder if hotel brands points business now is worth more than the hotels business (just like Airlines and their miles)?

They are playing the McDonald’s play book!

@karanpatel8910

Ай бұрын

Not really

@wadexyz

14 күн бұрын

McDonald's owns about 70% of the buildings and 45% of the land at its locations worldwide. So quite a bit different.

The franchising strategy adopted by Marriott and others is a brilliant move that has drastically scaled their growth while minimizing risk. This model showcases how brands can leverage their reputation and systems to ensure profitability and brand consistency without the direct costs of property management.

Hilton is just basically airBNB.

@newagain9964

Ай бұрын

All of them are. Except we hope they have a higher quality standard. Hope is the key word

@sefer-nv6cn

Ай бұрын

They probably do in most parts of the world outside the US.

@GameFuMaster

Ай бұрын

@@newagain9964 well generally they also don't come with surprise cleaning fees or whatever when displaying prices

@newagain9964

Ай бұрын

@@GameFuMaster true. And Hilton/a decent hotel chain’s customer care is 80% better than airBnB’s. Not higher simply because some hotel owners just DGA F.

What an interesting video, quality content.

I book Marriott because I have status though my Amex and I book them consistently for work so I can use the rewards when I am on vacation. it all checks out

That woman has joined the Night King!

@RAJohnson713

Ай бұрын

for real lol

@goodpropltd8382

Ай бұрын

bro her eyes are crazy! she's definitely been beyond the wall @@RAJohnson713

@justayoutuber1906

22 күн бұрын

Or Diary of a Vampire

I don't look at brand nowadays reviews are more accurate

Gouge pricing

@architecture.w

Ай бұрын

Dynamic pricing.

Wyndham is much larger than Hyatt, but I guess they could get Hyatt to talk on camera. Nice video and information!

@thediversion77

Ай бұрын

True, but Hyatt makes more than 4x more revenue than Wyndham at a much smaller scale. It's all relative, sort of like the airline industry.. Southwest airlines flies more passengers per year than United but United makes more money per year.

very informative

MCR is a car wreck - I stayed in one of their properties for 3 years and I question how they are still in business

So they are franchises basically?

@robertewalt7789

Ай бұрын

The franchise restaurant chains, eg McDonalds, require a local business person to own (or lease) the property, and operate the business.

@johnyossarian9059

Ай бұрын

And the brands don't own or operate the properties. They're just selling their flags for a cut of the revenue. Isn't that basically a franchise? Or am I getting the whole video wrong?

@wollinger

Ай бұрын

No. There are owned, managed and franchise hotels carrying those flags.

@newagain9964

Ай бұрын

Basically, yes.

@nene5857

Ай бұрын

Yes it is precisely a franchised hotel.

Yep Marriott is winning big on Hotels branding in the South Pacific and bought hotels previously owned by Starwood Hotels and Resorts, when JW Marriott bought the brand back in 2016.

Not only are most hotels a franchise but there are also management companies that the employees of those hotels actually work for and not the franchisee or the main name hotel.

Very informative, very humble, keep up the awesome videos. I will follow you ,I liked this trading nice very good very interesting

Where does OYO hotels come into this?

the code that dynamically sets the prices in platform according to the demand amazes me

@Dayvit78

Ай бұрын

It's a basic math function. How many rooms are left - up the price when there are fewer.

How does Wyndham compare? I seem to see a lot of their hotels now

How about enforce property owners to respect brand guidelines, and elite benefits, instead of letting them run away without any repercussion? If you treat yourself as a glorified OTA, then us customers act like so. I only go out of my way to stay at Hyatt. Marriott and Hilton don’t get my loyalty.

@TransConBrilliance

Ай бұрын

Because the hotel can just switch brands with little business interruption. It's like amex demanding target to have lower prices if they want to accept amex cards. How well is that going to be received.

I'm really loving this new peveat the WSJ is doing to other topics beside crazy politic, and cancel culture stuff.

Some similarities to car dealerships economics. But still vastly different

Great explainer video! I guess the hotel industry has learned from the fast food industry. What industry will follow this path next? Air travel? You operate a B737 and you get to slap a 'Singapore Airlines' on the side, if you manage it well.

@and1513

26 күн бұрын

This is already sort of a thing. Some airlines don't own their aircraft, they lease them from a 3rd party.

Great video. However I have tried for years to figure out which properties the Marriott family actually owns. Other than the two bridges office in Washington Washington DC

Just to make this clear (the video seems to suggest otherwise towards the end): the hotel industry is highly fragmented. Most hotels are small! Even Marriott as the biggest chain only holds a relatively percentage of market share world-wide: “Based on lodging industry data, we have an approximately 16 percent share of the U.S. hotel market and a four percent share of the hotel market outside the U.S. (based on number of rooms).“ (from their 2023 annual report)

Recently at a TX doubletree Hilton a little 12 year old died in the pool bc of an exposed pipe… this explains why the mom couldn’t sue the actual Hilton company… such a sad story of something that could’ve been prevented… and just sucks that this is how they work. I’ve noticed a decline in some of the chains we frequent for vacation.

In fact that many hotels are so difficult to bring the customers to enjoy the living of hotel. Hyatt isn't cheap hotel, luxury hotel

It's just like restaurants, franchises. Everyone's doing it. Some retail chains do it as well.

Calling packet rolled oats and skim milk as break fast is just ridiculous

@newagain9964

Ай бұрын

Or you’ll be fortunate enough to get $10 breakfast credit at restaurant. Marriott 😑. Where coffee is $7. A muffin is $5

Wonder a how much it cost to keep sandz? Would a love fi start keep events too

Wow, the wall street journal actually doing some journalism for once.

Yes, if you are not staying in an actual Brand owned and operated hotel, you're getting a franchisee. Whoa, watch out! You can definitely tell the difference at every level of your stay.

So like uber they charge same room at different rates per day of the week Even though their expenses remain constant through out the week

So its like Airbnb but for hotels... I think its an opportunity for those owners to build their own brands and cut out the franchisor (legacy hotel brands)

Dynamic pricing 🤦🏻‍♂️

@ThriftyCHNR

Ай бұрын

dystopia

@RudieObias

Ай бұрын

It's Capitalism.

@MatthewCasey

Ай бұрын

The absolute bane of the common person. Imagine getting a fair price or a good deal from a business with a full-time revenue manager and algorithms to outsmart you.

@TransConBrilliance

Ай бұрын

They know the average American is not going to do the work of finding the best price, read the fine print and do their homework more than one sitting in from of the computer. I literally spend 2 months monitoring hotel room prices in order to get an idea of the price ranges including point conversions. Who wants to do that and that's just 1 hotel.

@d.b.cooper1

Ай бұрын

Even gave Taylor Swift a shoutout for driving crazy prices. Most 2024 thing ever along with the grotesque tech driven drive of 'dynamic pricing' which more often than not isn't simply a demand & supply equation.

I doubt they feel threatened by franchises flying their hotels under different banners. This is because most of Marriot's portfolio is specifically themed and stylized. Which would make it harder for franchisees to switch sides.

Intriguing business model, didn't know this before! 😮

there are a lot hampton inn in china, most of them are franchise hotels, which used to be a pretty bad builiding in aweful condition but the brand saved it from dying so the property owner owns the hotel but pay franchise money

Why do they not mention about IHG at all in the video? Do they run by different strategy?

@RB-hm9re

Ай бұрын

Not really, probably chose two American based companies

@mallu1001

Ай бұрын

IHG is a European company now… London based…

@condor7810

Ай бұрын

TheTake: IHG runs the same strategy. IHG is quite a bit smaller than Hilton and Marriott. Though bigger than Hyatt.

@hewhohasnoidentity4377

Ай бұрын

It is called sponsored news. If you want to be discussed neutrally or positively in a video masquerading as factual you have to pay. IHG doesn't use this sort of marketing.

@jasonk125

Ай бұрын

@@condor7810 Big Four Market cap (USD): Marriott 72.23B Hilton 53.50B IHG 16.79B Hyatt 15.99B

Ok this makes sense, lower end hotels are not even necessary at attractive real estate locations. Why not rent your brand for those and concentrate your resources and management skills on the upper scale where the real money is

Hotels across brands have become too inconsistent, especially in North America. And it's unacceptable that many in the US are still serving room service in boxes which came about because of the pandemic and not returning to full tray service. It's these owners trying to squeeze every last dollar they can out of their properties.

Hotels lately suck! They all worry about saving a buck, that the quality has sugfered! Id rather stay at independent hotel than a brand name if the service and quality are there. I think its time to start a hotel brand

Nice video, managing is everything:)

Hotel franchises put their reputation on the line while the actual hotel operator just laughs in the face of guests complaining about their falling quality and standards. This is the kind of business model that will make these premium brand slowly lose its association with luxury.

I just hope that this industry consolidation doesn't lead to consumer price gouging and getting nickel and dimed left and right, like what usually happens with corporate monopolies!

I guess Hilton owns a much higher percentage of their hotels since they weren’t listed with Marriott and Hyatt as owning only 1 to 2 percent of their hotels.

@TransConBrilliance

Ай бұрын

That's what I think too and the reason why my room upgrade chances with Hilton is 80% and with Marriott it's more like 30%. Except San Diego areas where both of them are 0% in the last 7 years and I go there often.

@minhdo2631

28 күн бұрын

I’m a Hilton Loyalist

This makes a lot of sense now as to why even elite member service at Marriott is so awful and so incredibly awful at specific regions. Clearly, Marriott don't care enough to make sure their most loyal customers aren't getting shafted by not getting the benefits that they are supposed to. And this explains why so many specific hotels can get away with not offering breakfast to elite members or room upgrades. 2 prime reasons to even achieve platinum and up at Marriott. The worst part is that the 3 big chains appears to be colluding in prices in big cities like paris, London. They would just raise prices together and sometimes dynamically with the dollar. Meanwhile if you look at expedia for prices outside of those 3 you'll notice significantly lower prices. While I'll still retain my Hilton business I'm dropping Marriott permanently because I doubt anything will change with them in the next 5 years.

@erebuxy

Ай бұрын

That is caused by a different issue. In US, nearly EVERYONE is an elite member, even gold is super common. They are so easy to get through Marriott credit cards. If you want to get room upgrades and special perks, you need to have higher tiers than most people (which is at least Platinum to Titanium in US). Elite member carries more value outside US. As for London, the price is probably driven up by frequent business travelers. Because free points and free elite status. Why not!

@newagain9964

Ай бұрын

@@erebuxynot only are u conflating the issues, but ur blaming the customer for the problem created by the (greedy and sleazy) seller. 🥱🙄

That's why hotel reviews are more important than ever.

Easy money for Hotel operators. Cleaning expense is like $5 per day. Smh. Utilities and supplies another $5. They charge $300 per night is crazy.

I OWN MY BEACH RESORT! WE OPEN NEXT YEAR IN THE PHILIPPINES!

@erikgstewart

Ай бұрын

HOW NICE! GOOD LUCK!

@OHANA-BEACH-SUITES

Ай бұрын

@@erikgstewart Thank you! Hard work and dedication for several years! LETS GOOO!!!

They licensed the name or franchise them, the analyst said it would unlock value.

In previous video hyatt ceo said they own 50 % an in this video you said 2

@teasy2518

Ай бұрын

Most likely this video was created around the period when Hyatt made two significant acquisitions, notably expanding their portfolio of managed and franchised units compared to owned properties. These acquisitions were Lindner in Europe and the Apple Leisure Group, which specializes in all-inclusive resorts.

@kodekabuki

Ай бұрын

Same. I’m confused too. They even have excerpts of the interview with the CEO from the other video here but the 2% vs 50% numbers contradict each other.

Yes and your product has suffered because of it! I’ve stayed at Marriott hotels that were on par with Days Inn. It’s very inconsistent and very telling.

So.. Marriott & Hyatt r not more than tech companies now‼️ 🤷‍♀️

I need more information. How do these hotels make money and what are profits like for owners? Who is taking the risk?

@TransConBrilliance

Ай бұрын

They made themselves to be more like a credit card company than a hotel that you knew 25 years ago business model wise.

@Sololeveler344

Ай бұрын

They make money of events that are multi figures .

@Dividendflywheel

Ай бұрын

@@TransConBrilliancegreat comparison to credit card companies. They have adopted an asset light model that allows them to make nice profits from their brand.

@Dividendflywheel

Ай бұрын

The big brands Marriott Hilton sell rights to use their (name) brand. It’s basically a licensing agreement. The hotel owner makes a decent living by running a very efficient business. And they are incentivized to grow by owning different hotel brands under the Marriott family. For example the same entrepreneur person (or family) might own more than one of the 30 hotel brands under the Marriott umbrella

Why not mention IHG?

Bottom line, Marriott has sold out their control of quality and good customer experience for fast growth. Short term return for investors, who cares about our reputation if it doesn't affect the stock price this quarter.

@Dividendflywheel

Ай бұрын

You are correct Marriott stock has beat the S&P 500 going back to its IPO in 1998

How do most independent hotels get bookings these days? Expedia?

How does Marriott not being known by Marriott affect the customer? Reduction of quality. Lack of ability for the customer to know who is responsible for the property.

What about Rosewood ?

Is it Mary-It or Mary-Ot?

Didint know Valak had a part time job with Marriott.

"We think we're the best... we ARE the largest..." 😂

Something was kind of rude to me recently as if i could not afford to sleep there if i wanted to... it was not hilton

Yes

If people were more aware of this it would kill the brand name tho

This isn't new. I studied this in grad school in the early 2000's. It's not just the top tier hotels, but Motel 6, Days Inn, etc.

That's because they see a huge market crash and rising interest rates don't help.

So they are like McDonalds, Popeyes etc etc

Stop thinking of the fast food Business Model! Franchise hotels will never and have never managed to give any proper satisfaction to their brand! Worked in one and YIKES! It is about hospitality and your brand....and when you franchise that, what do you have??? No wonder hotel customer experience is going down, especially at Marriott!

THIS is why basically every hotel feels like a 2-star experience. Unless you will pay $600+ a night at a 5-star hotelt, you are going to get the 2-star "franchise" experience smh. And it is still not cheap!

Why not add Taj Group

Didn’t really explore how or how they don’t keep up with consistency of quality of product across their brands.

It's "Mare-ii-ett" and not "Mare-ii-ott?" *I, and everyone i know, including Hotel Staff, have been saying it wrong for 30 years??