Marriott Accelerates Caribbean Expansion

Marriott's 2025 growth in the Caribbean and Latin America involves a record 94 signed deals, adding 10,461 rooms to its pipeline. This represents a 40% increase in signed transactions compared to 2024. By the end of 2025, the company's regional presence grew to 555 properties and over 95,000 rooms across 37 territories. A significant portion of this growth comes from converting existing hotels into Marriott brands, accounting for nearly 30 properties and 3,000 rooms in the signed deals for 2025. The development pipeline at the end of the year included 45 conversion projects, totaling more than 6,000 rooms. The company is also pushing into the all-inclusive market with new properties like the W Punta Cana, an adults-only resort, and the upcoming JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort All-Inclusive, set to open in 2026. Future luxury, all-inclusive resorts are planned for The Bahamas, including a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Eleuthera and a Bvlgari Resort & Residences in Exuma, both expected to open in 2029. A key part of the expansion is the growth of the midscale City Express by Marriott brand. In 2025, 28 deals for City Express were signed across the region, adding 3,188 rooms and expanding the brand into seven new countries, including the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. To manage this expanding footprint, Marriott is implementing Oracle's OPERA Cloud Property Management System (PMS). This platform is designed to streamline hotel operations and centralize data for improved guest insights and planning. The goal is to create a unified system for its luxury, premium, and select-service properties. This technology upgrade extends to a hybrid procurement model that combines centralized global negotiations with localized purchasing. Marriott utilizes a procure-to-pay (P2P) system to link finance, procurement, and operations, aiming for greater efficiency and cost reduction across its network. The diverse geography of the Caribbean presents significant logistical hurdles, including varied customs regulations and the potential for weather disruptions like hurricanes. Inefficient port infrastructure and high shipping costs, which can be three times higher than in the Pacific, add layers of complexity to supply chain management in the region. For a large-scale resort project in the Caribbean, managing the supply chain can involve consolidating goods from various vendors at a central point, like Miami, before shipping to the islands. This strategy allows for better control over inventory, quality assurance, and can lead to significant savings on freight costs through volume consolidation.