It was a good year for the hotel industry as occupancy levels hit record highs in 2016.
The big news of the year was Marriott's mega acquisition of rival Starwood. The multi billion dollar deal gave Marriott a clear advantage on many key fronts. The result puts the Bethesda, MD hotel manager at the top of this year's lodging portion of the Forbes Global 2000 list.
Marriott's purchase of Starwood last year gave it a significant lead in terms of locations (over 6,000 hotels and more than 1 million rooms), brands (over 30) and locations (122 countries).
It's no surprise then that Marriott moved up the Forbes Global 2000 list to #467 from up #777 last year.
Marriott's market value and assets (2 metrics we use to rank our list) soared to $35 billion and $24 billion respectively. Last year those figures stood at $17 billion for market value and just $6 billion in assets.
Meanwhile Rival Hilton Hotels slipped to #767 from last year's #476. Hilton spun out its real estate assets and timeshare businesses into two companies last year.
Wyndham, IHC and France's Accor round out the remaining top hotel chains on this year's Global 2000 list.
The travel industry has faced a rough start to the year particularly in the US where travel bans have affected revenue. The Trump Administration’s first travel ban cost the United States $185 million in business travel bookings in one week, according to the Global Business Traveler's Association.
The latest ban on laptops places further strain on travelers and the industry that serves them.
Looking forward, hotel companies are bracing for a challenging second half. The GBTA projects a loss of over $1.3 billion in overall travel-related expenditures in the United States in 2017 including hotels, food, rental cars and shopping expenses that inbound travelers would have spent.
For more coverage of the FORBES Global 2000 ranking of the world’s largest public companies, see below:
The World's Largest Public Companies 2017
Global 2000: The Largest Companies In China In 2017
America's Top Public Companies In 2017: A Buffett Buy List
Here's How Much Of Russia's Biggest Banks And Drillers The Kremlin Owns
Europe's Largest Companies 2017: Shell Doubles Profit, Takes Top Spot
World's Largest Banks In 2017: The American Bull Market Returns
World's Largest Telecom Companies: AT&T And Verizon Top China Mobile
2017 Global 2000: The World's Largest Transportation Companies
2017 Global 2000: The World's Largest Insurers
World's Largest Retailers 2017: Amazon & Alibaba Are Closing In On Wal-Mart
World's Largest Oil And Gas Companies 2017: Exxon Reigns Supreme, While Chevron Slips
World's Largest Food And Beverage Companies 2017: Nestle, Pepsi And Coca-Cola Dominate The Field
Once Again, Christian Dior, Nike & Inditex Top World's Largest Apparel Companies
World's Largest Restaurant Companies, 2017: McDonald's Slips While Darden Makes Gains
The World's Largest Tech Companies 2017: Apple And Samsung Lead, Facebook Rises
