Today we’re going to talk all about a leading hospitality player who began its business as not a property owner but an A&W Root Beer franchise! 

Founded by J. Willard and Alice Sheets Marriott close to a century ago in 1927, our guest for today Marriott International got its start quenching people’s thirst during the hot muggy summers in Washington D.C. 

The company then moved into serving food and becoming The Hot Shoppes, where it opened the first drive-in restaurant on the East Coast in 1928. The firm had also at one point dabbled in inflight catering as well as cafeteria management at government buildings and major institutions between the 1930s and the 1950s.

But it was only thirty years after its founding in 1957 that the Hot Shoppes Inc. expanded into the lodging business with the Twin Bridges Motor Hotel in Alington, Virginia, and the rest was history. 

The Hot Shoppes was renamed Marriott Corporation in 1967, before splitting into Host Marriott Corporation and Marriott International Inc in 1993 as it grew in the hotel business. 

More recently in 2016, Marriott International bought over Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide for US$13 billion, bringing in 11 new brands including St. Regis Hotels and Sheraton Hotels, making it the largest hotel chain operator in the world.

In 2025, the region delivered its third straight year of record development performance with nearly 200 deals signed, adding over 28,000 rooms to its development pipeline. That’s a 32 per cent increase over the year, driven by growth markets including India, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Japan.

But what are the key trends supporting the development activity and which is the most important market for the firm? 

Meanwhile, the firm is also laser focused on doubling down room signings for its luxury segment brands including JW Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton and Luxury Collection. It is also looking at expanding beyond traditional gateway cities to emerging destinations with rich cultural heritage. But what should we know about the moves, and how will they augment the firm’s top and bottom line numbers?

On this Special episode of Under the Radar, finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Neeraj Govil, Chief Operating Officer, Asia Pacific excluding China (APEC), Marriott International.