what are Marriott's SWOT strategies?

[Joe]

SWOT analysis for marriott corporation

[BruinsRULZ]

Strengths
High brand recall
Marriott is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies formed by strong brands. At a corporate
level, Marriott has a high brand recall. The company operates in most major markets around the
world through its brands such as Marriott Hotels & Resorts, JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, The
Ritz-Carlton, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, Grand Residences by Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, and
TownePlace Suites by Marriott. In March 2008, Fortune magazine recognized Marriott as the most
admired company in the industry of hotels, resorts and casinos, for the tenth consecutive year. The
"Most Admired" list is made up of companies that are ranked by Executives, Directors, and Analysts
in their own industry on eight criteria, including innovation, people management, use of corporate
assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment, and
products/services quality.

Further, the company received various prestigious awards in the recent past. Some of the awards
that the company received in 2009 are: "2009 Tourism for Tomorrow Award for Sustainability",
"World's Most Ethical Companies", "Sustained Excellence Award", and "2009 Workplace Excellence
and Health & Wellness Trailblazer Award".
High brand recall draws customers to its hotels as well as provides it acceptability in new markets.
Diverse portfolio serving multiple customer segments
Marriott operates in all segments of the hotel sector, upscale and mid-scale. Marriott offers luxury
hotels under the brand names, The Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Bulgari Hotels
& Resorts. Its mid-scale and upper moderate segment includes brands such as Courtyard by Marriott,
SpringHill Suites by Marriott and Fairfield Inn by Marriott. The company's quality segment includes
brands such as Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Renaissance Hotels & Resorts. Extended Stay segment
operates brands such as TownePlace Suites by Marriott, Marriott Executive Apartments and Marriott
ExecuStay. A diverse portfolio, each having its own product range and pricing strategy, serves
multiple customer segments and expands the company's addressable market.
Strong technological orientation
Technology remains one of the strongest competitive advantages for Marriott. The company owns
world's seventh largest consumer retail website, Marriott.com. The website accounts for 20% of the
company's gross property-level sales. The web site provided the company with gross property-level
revenues of $6,200 million in FY2008, nearly 19% up from a year ago. In addition, the propertylevel
sales from the company's international web sites increased 66%. Further, the company offers
booking facilities to its customers through mobile. In FY2008, the company recorded the guests
booked of over $2.0 million through its mobile booking engine. The company has also connected
with more than 400,000 individuals on social media sites such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook,
Marriott Rewards Insiders, and through company's own blog, "Marriott on the Move."
Hence, Marriot’s ability to leverage technology is enabling it to curtail its promotion expenditure as
well as boost its top line growth.

Weaknesses
Weak operational performance
Marriot’s credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service (S&P) in April 2009.
S&P downgraded Marriott's debt rating from BBB to BBB-.The down gradation reflected the downward
expectation for 2009 revenue per available room in the US lodging industry, which would decline
between 14%–16% during the year. Downgrade in rating makes it difficult and expensive for the
company to access the credit market. Any further downgrades of credit ratings by S&P or other
similar rating agencies would increase the company's cost of capital.
Declining margins
The company has witnessed a decline in profit margins in FY2008. The operating margin and net
margin, which were showing an increasing trend till FY2007, declined in the last financial year. The
operating margin came down from 9.1% in FY2007 to 6.1% in FY2008, which indicates that the
company has not been able to manage its cost structure efficiently. A proportionate decline is reflected
in the net profit margin as well, net profit margins came down to 2.8% in FY2008 from 5.4% the year
before. Declining operating profit margins have impacted the company’s profit making capacity and
could pull down investor confidence.

Opportunities
Renovation initiatives
The company has taken several renovation initiatives in the recent past. In FY2008, the company
has transformed many of its existing hotels. For instance, the owners of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis
have completed the renovation of hotels during the year, with expenditure to $138.0 million. Further,
the company's Renaissance Hotels & Resorts segment completed its three-year $2,000.0 million
makeover. This included the renovation of the Renaissance New York Hotel Times S