Marriott International's first-quarter profit rose 3% from a year earlier, as higher franchise fees more than offset the drop in earnings caused by last year's spinoff of the company's timeshare business.
Marriott's net income was $104 million, up from $101 million. Revenue fell 8.2% to $2.55 billion because of the timeshare spinoff; the timeshare business had accounted for about 10% of Marriott's sales.
Factoring out currency effects, Marriott's revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose 6.7%. North America RevPAR advanced 6.9%, while RevPAR increased 5.3% in the rest of the world.
With higher demand, Marriott’s franchise fees rose 22% from a year earlier to $122 million.
In North America, RevPAR from Marriott's upscale and luxury brands (Marriott, JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance) rose 7.1%, while RevPAR within select-service badges (including Courtyard and Residence Inn) rose 6.7%.
Internationally, demand grew most in the Asia-Pacific and Caribbean/Latin America regions. Marriott's RevPAR was little-changed in Europe and fell in Middle East/Africa.
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