marriott international 2008 Q4 Earnings Call Transcript with Q&A

Marriott International reported challenging results for Q4 2008 and full year 2008 due to the difficult economic environment. Systemwide RevPAR declined 8% in Q4 both in North America and outside North America. Marriott is actively managing costs and reducing investments to prepare for continued weak demand according to two forecast scenarios. First quarter 2009 is expected to be particularly difficult with estimated RevPAR declines of 17% in North America and 15% outside North America, and total fee revenue declining 20-25%. However, Marriott remains focused on gaining market share and has significant available capital to withstand the downturn.