Marriott and Hilton: 12 Takeaways From Their Annual Reports

Marriott International is the world's largest hotelier, but Hilton Worldwide is a close rival. The following are noteworthy details from the latest annual 10-K filings for Marriott and Hilton.

1. A rivalry in signing up loyalty members.

As of year-end 2023, this was the state of the race on loyalty program membership:

Hilton had 180 million members in its loyalty program, a 19% year-over-year increase. Marriott had 196 million members in its loyalty program, a 10.7% gain.

Hilton grew its program more quickly, though from a relatively smaller base. If the companies retain their one-year growth rate in the coming year, Hilton may overtake Marriott in loyalty member count when they report figures in early to mid-2025.

2. Marriott's loyalty program generated a far higher total volume of rewards for members than Hilton's did.

As of the end of 2023, Marriott’s program generated a much higher volume of rewards owed to loyalty members than Hilton’s had. Its program is simply bigger and more heavily used.

Hotel loyalty programs are complex. Hotel owners pay into in a fund when they receive paying guests. They take money out when they serve guests redeeming rewards. Both Marriott and Hilton ensure hoteliers set aside enough money to cover all the rewards promised to guests. These showed up as liabilities on the 10-Ks.

Marriott has a short-term liability of $3.33 billion for its guest loyalty program and an additional long-term liability of $3.67 billion. Those numbers are a proxy for how much its guests have effectively earned in the company’s loyalty program.

In contrast, Hilton had a short-term liability of only $1.2 billion for its guest loy