Category: 3. Business

At Good Company Doughnuts in Arlington, Va., Audrey Morris was picking up a BLT.

A QR code near the register invited her to rate her experience. But, to her, the idea of leaving a review was unappetizing.

“They are excessive,” she said. “I get tired of them.”

It’s not just doughnut shops who are crazy about feedback. Doctors and dentists now want you to rate your experience. The car dealership wants to know how the oil change went. How are the sweatpants you bought online? How was the concert you bought tickets for?

Customers want to read reviews and businesses need reviews to attract customers. But the constant demand for reviews could be creating a feedback backlash, experts say. What began as an innovative way to benefit consumers is increasingly an obligatory burden for shoppers and sellers alike.

Here’s how we got into this frenzy of feedback.

Blame (or thank) Amazon 

Amazon — where better review stats give sellers a competitive edge — played a big part in popularizing the online customer review system we now take for granted, according to Prasad Vana, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Oxford.

Going back to the company’s early days as an online bookstore that featured reader reviews, he says, “they were one of the first ones to prominently do it and stick to it.”

Amazon implemented a standardized five-star rating system, and Vana says the company didn’t curate reviews — a book could receive all single stars and still be displayed on the site. Although the inclusion of low ratings could potentially drive down sales, it was introduced to help customers make better decisions, he says.

But as Amazon’s marketplace scaled up — to a point that shoppers are now often faced with a dizzying number of options for any given product — sellers had to amass reviews to stay competitive.

Amazon told NPR it doesn’t comment on how its algorithm works. But according to Vana, Amazon determines the order of search results using a formula that considers many factors, including the number of reviews and the average rating — suggesting that more reviews and higher ratings help get a seller’s products placed higher in search results.

Amazon is now just one of several platforms potential customers use to look up reviews for products and services, including Google Maps, Facebook, Yelp and Tripadvisor — and business owners who want to get frequent and favorable ratings wherever they can have staked their presence on these sites.

“We may have typically looked for reviews or ratings or customer feedback on products — anything from a sweater to a toaster — 10 years ago. Now we’re looking for ratings on doctors and dentists and banks and financial service providers and airlines,” says Andrea Flynn, a professor of marketing at the University of San Diego.

Hooked on reviews

Vana, the University of Oxford professor, says the growth of online shopping over the last two decades or so has reset our expectations for how we buy pretty much everything.

He describes a “flow” that people follow when they browse and collect information about products. We look for reviews to make decisions.

“Whether you’re buying a diaper or you’re sending your parents to an old age home, what ends up happening is that that’s the process that the mind is attuned towards,” he says. “Now, with whatever decision we’re trying to make, we’re like, ‘OK, let’s read some reviews.’ “

Flynn at the University of San Diego says there’s a psychological phenomenon fueling the demand for feedback. Reviews are a way for people to “social proof” their decision — the idea that people tend to copy the behavior of those around them.

People are also aware that many online reviews are fake, she says, but buyers still heavily rely on ratings — 97% of consumers read reviews when considering purchases, according to a recent survey by BrightLocal, a search engine optimization and marketing company.

Potential customers are judging by the number of reviews; they’re considering the average score, Vana says.

To maximize the number of reviews, sellers can’t just hope and wait — they have to ask. And Amazon and other websites have now made that easier than ever. Vana says an automated email can be scheduled with just a couple clicks: “Will you rate your transaction at Amazon.com?”

Now, virtually every business — online and brick-and-mortar, from bakers to bankers — can quickly ask for input, using QR codes, email, online pop-up surveys and of course, the many, many text messages.

“You can reach people very easily and inexpensively any time 24/7 now to make these requests,” says Flynn. “It makes it quick and easy, both for the companies to ask for the feedback, it makes it quick and easy for the customer to provide the feedback.”

Charles Kachadoorian, Good Company’s co-founder, said reviews are “a game you have to play” as a business owner. “The reviews really matter,” he says. Especially for a locally owned small business like theirs, “more than likely, the owners are reading every single review.”

The online review system offers them a way to “get the word out” about their business, Kachadoorian says, but he adds that it misses a valuable part of the business-customer relationship that in-person feedback provides.

It’s a “love-hate relationship,” he says of their drive for reviews.

The limits of feedback fever

There are some signs people are getting tired of it. A small survey of customers at Good Company Doughnuts revealed people are less than enthusiastic about business surveys.

“There’s just too many,” said Sara Emhof, who ordered an Americano. “It starts to feel like another thing to do.”

Customers said they were more likely to review when they’ve had a particularly positive or particularly negative experience.

Maria Zumer was picking up an order to go. “I think if it was, like, really, really bad or really, really good. Like one extreme or the other. But otherwise, I almost never do,” she said.

This is one of the limitations in the value of customer feedback, both Vana and Flynn say. People who say “it was acceptable” are less common in responses, so online reviews aren’t giving the full picture.

Reviews “tend to skew towards the ends of the spectrum,” Flynn says. “The folks in the middle that had a perfectly fine experience, we don’t hear as much from them and so it can tip the scales in one direction or another.”

What businesses can do to fend off review fatigue 

To weather the fixation on feedback, businesses have to toe a fine line: Flynn says her research “shows that there is a tipping point,” where customers may purchase less frequently “because they know every time they make a purchase or every time there’s an interaction, they’re going to get that request for feedback.”

Flynn isn’t sure that a widespread backlash has begun yet, but she says sellers should be proactive. Instead of asking for a review after every purchase, she says, try after every third one or just for big-ticket items.

Especially for brick-and-mortar businesses, timing of the ask is key, according to Vana. If a customer was especially satisfied, that’s a good time to mention the importance of a review. “Humans are altruistic by nature and would find it hard to turn down the review request that was placed at the opportune moment,” he says.

That human connection — a pushback against the faceless nature of a streamlined, online system — is what motivates Emhof to leave positive reviews.

She said that if she does leave feedback with a business, it’s usually when she’s “connected with the employee” and “I want to do something for them.”

Wendy Smith, a senior manager of research science at SurveyMonkey, says most people don’t mind taking surveys if they feel it’s relevant to them and that their feedback is actually being used.

“Deep down, everybody wants to be heard,” she says. “And that’s not an exception in surveys.”

Her advice for businesses?

“Only ask the questions that you are going to act on. Be very clear. Be very respectful of your respondents. They’re giving you something valuable to drive your business.”

Amazon is among NPR’s financial supporters and pays to distribute some NPR content. Google is also a financial supporter of NPR.

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by total mesorectal excision (TME) has long been a standard strategy for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). However, pelvic radiotherapy can add treatment burden—both during therapy and long after it ends—through bowel and pelvic toxicities that may affect quality of life. This has fueled interest in radiation-sparing approaches for selected patients, especially those without high-risk MRI features. The CONVERT trial was designed to test whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nCT) with CAPOX alone could be an alternative to capecitabine-based nCRT in MRF-uninvolved LARC.

The final results of the phase III CONVERT trial were published as an Original Report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on February 19, 2026. The paper reports long-term oncologic outcomes with a median follow-up of 48 months, alongside a detailed comparison of short- and long-term toxicities.

Title: Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy With CAPOX Versus Chemoradiation for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer With Uninvolved Mesorectal Fascia (CONVERT): Final Results of a Phase III Trial

Authors: Wei-Jian Mei; Xiao-Zhong Wang; Xuan Zhang; Yue-Ming Sun; Chun-Kang Yang; Jun-Zhong Lin; Zu-Guang Wu; Rui Zhang; Wei Wang; Yong Li; Ye-Zhong Zhuang; Jian Lei; Xiang-Bin Wan; Ying-Kun Ren; Yong Cheng; Wen-Liang Li; Zi-Qiang Wang; Dong-Bo Xu; Xian-Wei Mo; Hai-Xing Ju; Sheng-Wei Ye; Jing-Lin Zhao; Hong Zhang; Yuan-Hong Gao; Zhi-Fan Zeng; Wei-Wei Xiao; Xiao-Peng Zhang; Yun-Feng Li; E Xie; Yi-Fei Feng; Jing-Hua Tang; Xiao-Jun Wu; Gong Chen; Li-Ren Li; Zhen-Hai Lu; De-Sen Wan; Jin-Xin Bei; Zhi-Zhong Pan; Jie-Hai Yu; Pei-Rong Ding.

Methods

CONVERT was a phase III, open-label, multicenter, randomized noninferiority trial conducted across 21 hospitals in China (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02288195). Eligible patients were 18–75 years old with previously untreated, pathologically confirmed LARC located within 12 cm from the anal verge and with uninvolved MRF. Patients had to have ECOG performance status ≤1 and adequate organ function. Key exclusions included cT4b disease, tumors adjacent to the MRF, symptomatic bowel obstruction, prior pelvic radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or another invasive malignancy within 5 years.

Baseline staging included contrast-enhanced CT of the chest/abdomen and pelvic MRI (mandatory unless contraindicated), with endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) used for staging support. Patients were randomized 1:1 with stratification by tumor location and clinical nodal stage.

Treatment arms

• Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nCT) arm: four cycles of CAPOX (oxaliplatin 130 mg/m² day 1 plus capecitabine 1,000 mg/m² twice daily days 1–14, every 3 weeks), followed by restaging. Patients without progression proceeded to TME 2–4 weeks later. Patients with local progression could receive chemoradiation before surgery. Postoperative chemoradiation was recommended if surgical margins contained microscopic or macroscopic disease. Four cycles of adjuvant CAPOX were recommended.
• Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) arm: capecitabine 825 mg/m² twice daily concurrent with radiotherapy (5 days/week for 5 weeks). Radiotherapy was delivered via IMRT with 50 Gy/25 fractions to gross tumor volume and 45 Gy/25 fractions to clinical target volume. Restaging was performed 5 weeks after CRT, with TME planned 6–10 weeks after CRT. Six cycles of adjuvant CAPOX were recommended.

Key endpoints

The primary endpoint was 3-year locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS), defined as time from random assignment to local or regional progression/relapse. Secondary endpoints reported in this final analysis included 3-year disease-free survival (DFS), 3-year overall survival (OS), and adverse events (AEs). AEs were categorized as short-term (during neoadjuvant/adjuvant therapy) and long-term (persisting 1 year after trial start), graded by CTCAE v4.

Read about Rectal Cancer Cure Rate on OncoDaily.

Results

From June 1, 2014, to October 1, 2020, 663 patients were recruited and randomized (331 to nCT and 332 to nCRT). Seventy-four patients did not receive protocol treatment after randomization (31 in nCT; 43 in nCRT). The modified intention-to-treat (mITT) population therefore included 589 treated patients (nCT 300; nCRT 289). Baseline characteristics were well balanced between arms. Median follow-up was 48 months.

Primary endpoint

Locoregional progression or relapse within 3 years was rare, occurring in 17 patients total (10 in the nCT arm and 7 in the nCRT arm). Reported sites of local recurrence included the presacral area, mesorectal space, anastomotic site, lateral area, and anterior area.

At 3 years, LRRFS was 97.4% (95% CI, 95.5–99.3) with nCRT and 96.3% (95% CI, 94.0–98.6) with nCT, corresponding to a hazard ratio of 1.40 (95% CI, 0.53–3.68). Because the upper bound of the 95% confidence interval for the hazard ratio exceeded the prespecified noninferiority margin of 1.6, noninferiority of neoadjuvant CAPOX alone was not confirmed, despite very low local recurrence rates in both groups.

Subgroup analyses showed no significant interaction effects at a two-sided significance level of 0.05. Within the nCT arm, univariate and multivariate analyses did not identify factors clearly associated with worse LRRFS, although an exploratory signal was noted for tumors <5 cm from the anal verge (HR 3.60, P = .063), which did not reach statistical significance.

A small number of patients achieved a complete clinical response and pursued a watch-and-wait strategy: 2 patients in the nCT arm and 5 in the nCRT arm. All seven remained tumor-free during the 3-year postoperative follow-up.

Secondary endpoints

Events contributing to DFS (locoregional recurrence, metastasis, or death) occurred in 30 patients in the nCT arm and 33 in the nCRT arm within 3 years. The 3-year DFS rate was 89.2% (95% CI, 85.6–92.9) with nCT and 87.9% (95% CI, 84.1–91.8) with nCRT (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.54–1.44).

Overall, 30 deaths were reported within 3 years (14 in the nCT arm and 16 in the nCRT arm). The 3-year OS rate was 95.0% (95% CI, 92.4–97.5) with nCT and 94.1% (95% CI, 91.3–96.9) with nCRT (HR 0.86, 95% CI 0.42–1.76). Subgroup analyses similarly reported no significant interaction effects for DFS or OS.

Safety Profile

During neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy, the overall burden of toxicity was broadly comparable between strategies. The incidence of any-grade short-term AEs was 78.0% with nCT versus 73.3% with nCRT (P = .189), and grade 3–4 short-term AEs occurred in 15.3% versus 13.1% (P = .449). Selected differences were observed: neutropenia was less frequent with nCT (39.3% vs 48.1%, P = .032), while thrombocytopenia was more frequent with nCT (28.7% vs 20.1%, P = .015). Neurologic AEs were reported in 32.0% of nCT patients versus 24.6% of nCRT patients (P = .045). The incidence of grade ≥3 long-term AEs was low in both groups (4.5% with nCRT vs 3.0% with nCT), without a statistically significant difference.

Long-term toxicity patterns favored omission of radiotherapy. Although any-grade long-term AEs did not differ significantly (40.7% with nCT vs 48.1% with nCRT; P = .070), grade 2–4 long-term AEs were significantly lower with nCT (16.0% vs 26.3%, P = .002). Proctitis was also lower in the nCT arm (33.6% vs 41.7%, P = .049). Among patients receiving radiotherapy, 12.5% had radiodermatitis persisting at 1 year.

Read about Radiotherapy for Rectal Cancer: Types, Success Rate, Side Effects  on OncoDaily.

Conclusion

The final CONVERT analysis shows that in MRF-uninvolved locally advanced rectal cancer, both strategies achieved excellent locoregional control at 3 years. Although the trial did not confirm noninferiority of CAPOX-only neoadjuvant therapy for the primary LRRFS endpoint—because the confidence interval crossed the prespecified margin—DFS and OS were similar between arms. Importantly, chemotherapy alone reduced the burden of late toxicity, with significantly fewer grade 2–4 long-term adverse events and less proctitis compared with chemoradiation.

Taken together, these findings suggest that radiation omission may be feasible in carefully selected patients with uninvolved MRF, while highlighting the importance of careful patient selection, particularly for tumors located close to the anal verge.

The full article is available on Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Ocado is to cut 1,000 jobs as the retail technology business attempts to slash costs by £150m in a major restructure.

The group confirmed about 5% of its global workforce is being cut, with about two-thirds of the job losses affecting its UK operations.

Most of the UK cuts will affect staff at the company’s headquarters in Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

The business, which runs robotic warehouses for supermarket chains, said it plans to scale back research and development, helping it cut about £150m in technology and support costs in 2026. It also cited “AI efficiencies” and “cost discipline” in reducing its spending.

The group also said it will restructure its commercial, support and R&D operations, which will result in Ocado Solutions and Ocado Intelligent Automation being merged into a single division.

The Ocado chief executive, Tim Steiner, said: “Regrettably, this means a significant number of roles will no longer be required.

“We are grateful to colleagues who are affected by these changes, and whose talent and hard work have made a lasting contribution to Ocado.

“We will support those impacted through this process.”

Ocado said last month that its Canadian partner was closing a warehouse that uses its robots and automation technology in another blow to the UK online delivery group’s business model.

It announced that Sobeys would be shutting the Calgary facility, saying it was “largely due to the Alberta grocery e-commerce market’s size and the rate of expansion being slower than originally anticipated”.

The decision came less than three months after Ocado’s US partner Kroger closed three warehouses, knocking almost a fifth off the UK company’s value.

The beleaguered advertising group WPP has announced a radical restructure to counter the threat posed by the AI revolution, including merging its ad agencies and cutting jobs.

Aiming to be “a simpler, lower-cost, AI-enabled business”, the London-based company laid out plans to achieve £500m of annual savings by 2028, at a cost of £400m over two years.

A significant proportion of the cost cuts are expected to come through cutting jobs. The company did not specify how many roles would be cut.

Since its inception in the mid-1980s, the steepest cuts WPP has made were 7,200 jobs as a result of the global advertising recession in 2009, and 7,000 in 2020 because of the impact of the Covid pandemic.

A large chunk of the savings will be reinvested into “high-growth” areas, it said on Thursday.

The troubled company will set up a stand-alone division to partner with clients on AI transformation, as it reorganises the group into four regional businesses: North America; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and Asia Pacific.

Its ad agencies – Ogilvy, VML and AKQA – will be merged under the WPP Creative umbrella as part of the plan.

Cindy Rose, the chief executive, said the company was “unveiling a bold plan for a simpler, more integrated WPP that’s fit for the future”.

London-listed WPP, which has struggled to stem a growing exodus of clients and is racing to match the AI and data capabilities of rivals, employs about 100,000 staff globally.

Rose, who signalled job cuts on arriving last year, added: “Our recent underperformance has been driven by excessive organisational complexity, a lack of an integrated operating model and inconsistent strategic execution. While disappointing, I see huge potential as these issues are all within our power to fix and we’re already making great progress.”

Her comments came as WPP reported a 3.6% drop in comparable revenue to £13.6bn for 2025, and a 26% fall in profit before tax to £1.1bn.

Last week the US rival Omnicom, which completed a $13bn (£9.6bn) takeover of the rival Interpublic in November, doubled its target for annual cost savings to $1.5bn. The announcement, which included savings of $1bn by reducing “labour costs” by 2028, cheered investors, which sent its share price soaring 15%.

WPP, which spends almost £8bn annually on staff costs, is fighting for survival with a market value languishing at £3bn.

The company was valued at £25bn only nine years ago but its share price has slumped almost two-thirds over the past year.

After a series of profit warnings the company fell out of the FTSE 100 after nearly 30 years at the end of last year, having lost its crown as the world’s biggest advertising group by revenue to the French rival Publicis Groupe in 2024.

Earlier this month, new data showed UK advertising agencies had their biggest annual exodus of staff last year, led by younger workers, as artificial intelligence tools threaten to replace workers and force the industry to cut jobs and costs.

LONDON: Marriott International, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAR, “Marriott”) announced an exceptional year of growth across Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) in 2025 with more than 230 organic signings representing over 31,000 rooms. Marriott also added 170 properties and nearly 24,000 rooms across EMEA last year, contributing to a 7.8% net rooms growth in the region.

 

“2025 was another strong year for Marriott International in EMEA defined by strategic expansion and segment-wide momentum across the region,” said Satya Anand, President, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International. “We continued to grow our portfolio with purpose by expanding into new destinations, scaling our brands thoughtfully and offering even more diverse experiences for our guests and Marriott Bonvoy members. Our robust growth is a testament to the dedication of our teams and the trust of our owners, and we remain committed to shaping the future of travel in the region.”

 

The company’s EMEA region ended the year with a pipeline of over 600 properties and nearly 113,000 rooms.

 

Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom were the highest growth markets, with the leading number of signings for the company across the region in 2025.  Conversions and adaptive reuse projects continue to drive significant growth for the company in the region, fueled by the company’s portfolio of collection brands and conversion-friendly offerings. Conversions and adaptive reuse projects represented nearly 50% of the region’s signings in the year.

 

Unrivaled Luxury Brands Deliver Extraordinary Growth

Marriott reinforced its luxury leadership in 2025. EMEA represented the company’s strongest region for signings in the luxury segment with a record 40 signed luxury deals. St. Regis saw the highest number of signed agreements in the region with 14 deals, including The St. Regis Karya Cove Resort, Bodrum and The St. Regis Jeddah Corniche. Other luxury milestone signings included The Cape Town EDITION, JW Marriott Hotel Tashkent and JW Marriott Milos Resort and Spa.

 

Record Breaking Branded Residential Signings

Reinforcing the company’s 25-year leadership in branded residences, Marriott signed a record-breaking 24 residential deals across EMEA, more than double the volume signed in 2024.  Since year-end 2023, the company has grown its branded residential total portfolio of open and pipeline properties by 33% in Europe, and 70% in the Middle East & Africa, demonstrating the growing demand for elevated living in the region. The company closed the year with 33 open locations and 60 in the region’s pipeline. Signings highlights in 2025 included The Residences at the Dubai Beach EDITION; Marriott Residences, Budapest; The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Palm Hills, Cairo and Seamont, Autograph Collection Residences, Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi.

 

Accelerated Expansion of Midscale Segment

Marriott has experienced extraordinary growth in the midscale segment, while maintaining a strategic focus on regionally resonant brands and scaling them. Four Points Flex by Sheraton, a conversion-friendly midscale brand offered in EMEA, represented the fastest growing brand for the company in the region with 18 signings and 23 openings in 2025.  The brand closed the year with 38 open properties with over 4,300 rooms.

 

Marriott recently introduced two new brands to the region – Series by Marriott, a global collection brand for the midscale and upscale lodging segments that is designed to deliver a personalised experience that reflects the distinct character of each destination, and StudioRes, an extended-stay midscale brand.  Both brands have received significant interest from developers across the EMEA region.

 

Acquisition of the citizenM brand

As the company continues to strive to meet the evolving needs of every traveler and trip purpose, Marriott completed its acquisition of the citizenM brand, known for its genuine service, tech-savvy in-hotel experience, highly efficient use of space, and focus on art and design. The citizenM portfolio was integrated on Marriott’s platforms in the fourth quarter of 2025, adding 19 hotels and nearly 4,000 rooms to the company’s EMEA portfolio.   

 

Jerome Briet, Chief Development Officer, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International added,

“From record luxury and branded residential signings to the remarkable momentum of our midscale offerings, we are capturing opportunity for growth and new audiences across every segment in the region. These milestones underscore the depth and diversity of our portfolio and reinforce our commitment to delivering long-term value for our hotel owners in this region.”

 

Marriott added 170 properties to its operating portfolio in the region in 2025. Opening highlights included:

• The Luxury Collection continued its expansion in the region following the openings of Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Greece and H15 Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Krakow

• Lifestyle luxury brands EDITION and W Hotels celebrated milestone openings such as The Lake Como EDITION, The Red Sea EDITION, W Florence and W Sardinia.

• JW Marriott made its debut in Greece with the JW Marriott Crete Resort & Spa, the brand’s first Mediterranean beach resort.

• The company’s flagship brand, Marriott Hotels, marked its debut in Luxembourg with the Luxembourg Marriott Hotel Alfa.

• Morea House, Autograph Collection, opened within Camps Bay in Cape Town, further expanding the brand’s diverse and dynamic portfolio of independent hotels in the region.

• Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Moxy Hotels reached 100 open properties in the region with the Moxy Belfast City along with other key openings in Istanbul, Lisbon and Warsaw.

• Four Points Flex by Sheraton added over 20 properties to its operating portfolio which included the brand’s entry into Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain.

 

As Marriott continues to expand its offerings, the breadth and depth of the company’s portfolio remain well-positioned to offer compelling options for developers and real estate investors. To learn more about Marriott’s development opportunities and updates, visit https://www.hotel-development.marriott.com/.

 

###

 

 

NOTE ON FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of United States federal securities laws, including statements related to our expectations regarding new brands, offerings and growth opportunities; deal signings and expected future project openings; our development pipeline; the pace and momentum of development activity, conversion activity and growth in certain segments and product tiers; brand debuts in certain markets and sectors; owner interest, demand and preferences for our brands; and similar statements concerning anticipated future actions and expectations that are not historical facts. We caution you that these statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to numerous evolving risks and uncertainties that we may not be able to accurately predict or assess, including the risk factors that we identify in our U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Any of these factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations we express or imply in this press release. We make these forward-looking statements as of the date of this press release and undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

ABOUT MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL

 Marriott International, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of compelling brands across luxury, premium, select, midscale, extended stay, and all-inclusive, with over 9,800 properties in 145 countries and territories, as of December 31, 2025. Marriott franchises, operates, and licenses hotel, residential, timeshare, yacht, outdoor, and other lodging products all around the world. The company offers Marriott Bonvoy^®, its highly awarded travel platform. For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com. In addition, connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl on X and Instagram.

Marriott encourages investors, the media, and others interested in the company to review and subscribe to the information Marriott posts on its investor relations website at www.marriott.com/investor or Marriott’s news center website at www.marriottnewscenter.com, which may be material. The contents of these websites are not incorporated by reference into this press release or any report or document Marriott files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and any references to the websites are intended to be inactive textual references only.

 

Additional Imagery: Here