Marriott Returns to Profit, raises Outlook

The FinChannel reports that:

Marriott International Inc., the largest U.S. hotel chain, said it moved to a fourth-quarter profit as leisure travelers took advantage of promotions and business travel improved.

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In the timeshare segment, adjusted sales and services revenue dipped 3 percent to $375 million, AP informs. Many hotel operators that have timeshare businesses have had difficulty with the segment during the recession as consumers have been reluctant to make such purchases while trying to conserve cash.

But Marriott remains optimistic, saying its timeshare contract sales could be “slightly higher” in 2010, according to the same source. For the full year, Marriott posted a loss of $346 million, or 97 cents per share. Annual revenue declined to $10.91 billion from $12.88 billion.

Update: A report in the International Property Journal about how Marriott is becoming wary of new Timeshare projects