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Dive Brief:
Marriott International, the Bethesda, Maryland-based hospitality company, will prioritize conversion projects over new construction as part of its updated growth strategy, CEO Tony Capuano said Wednesday during the company’s second quarter earnings call.
The strategy shift is in response to the high cost and complex financing involved in new builds, according to Leeny Oberg, CFO and executive vice president.
“The availability of construction debt is still relatively constricted to where we were in a pre-pandemic situation,” said Capuano during the call. “As a result, we’re not back to where we were pre-pandemic in terms of shovels in the ground. Trends are going the right direction, but we’re just not all the way back yet.”