While I’m not convinced that anything will come of this, Marriott’s CEO has just made some eyebrow-raising comments about an area where the company sees an opportunity. I’m skeptical that this will actually happen, but who knows…
Marriott “talking” about opening airport lounges
Today (Thursday, October 30, 2025), Skift CEO Rafat Ali had a discussion with Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano in Abu Dhabi, addressing a variety of topics. One of the more interesting things to come up was regarding Marriott considering opening its own branded airport lounges. Discussing the topic, Capuano said the following:
“I had my senior leadership strategy retreat this summer, and it was one of the topics that came up as really interesting. It’s an intriguing thing. Does it make sense for us to do it independently, or more sense to partner with one of our credit card partners? It’s certainly something we’re talking about. It’s still just an idea.”
I don’t see this actually happening, but who knows
While I find it intriguing that Marriott’s CEO mentioned this, I can’t imagine this would become a reality.
In theory, I can of course understand that Marriott is a hospitality brand, and those who stay at hotels a lot are likely to also travel by air a lot, so there’s some overlap there. That being said, I think it’s safe to say that if there were a lounge network, it wouldn’t be because Marriott wants to do something nice for its guests or elite members, but instead, because it sees an opportunity to monetize the lounges.
And as we know, loyalty programs and monetization typically involves co-branded credit cards. In the United States, Marriott has co-branded credit cards issued by both American Express and Chase. Both banks already have their own proprietary airport lounges.
Is there a world in which Marriott could open its own network of lounges, and tie that in as a premium credit card benefit? In theory, sure. However, this seems counterproductive for American Express and Chase, and for that matter, actually finding sufficient airport real estate to open a robust lounge network would be challenging.
Perhaps the more likely outcome is that we see some premium Marriott cards introduced that offer access to the networks of Amex Centurion Lounges or Chase Sapphire Lounges.
But we also have to be honest, Marriott is only sort of in the hospitality business. Really Marriott is in the counting business… of counting annual increases in the number of rooms in the portfolio, with growth at any cost being the primary objective.
That’s what matters most to Marriott, and the concept of airport lounges just seems like a distraction. But hey, who knows… Southwest Airlines is opening its own lounges, so if that’s happening, I suppose anything is possible.
Bottom line
Marriott management is reportedly discussing the concept of opening airport lounges, either independently, or in partnership with a co-brand credit card partner. While the appeal is obvious, I can’t imagine this will become a reality.
If it were to happen, it would presumably be yet another co-brand credit card play. But given that Marriott partners with both Amex and Chase, and they have extensive lounge networks both independently and with their airline partners, I don’t see where the appetite for this would come from.
What do you make of the concept of Marriott opening airport lounges?