Abby Tate ’22 pitched Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) on March 28th, 2022. Marriott International Inc. is one of the leading operators and franchisers of hotels worldwide. The hotelier operates or franchises over 7,300 hotel, residential, and timeshare properties worldwide. Their hotel portfolio consists of 1.4 million guest rooms and 30 brands, some of their biggest brands being Delta Hotels, Renaissance Hotel brands, Ritz-Carlton, W Hotels, The Luxury Collection, JW Marriott luxury brands, and their flagship Marriott Hotels & Resorts. The main drivers of Abby’s pitch were the expected travel recovery trending towards luxury brands, younger travelers, and domestic travel, the rise of “laptop luggers”, and Marriott’s ability to adapt to market and industry demand. The class voted to buy 300 of shares of Marriott at $174 and cover this by selling 3 at the money calls expiring in June 2022. This derivatives strategy was implemented as the stock price had risen significantly since the start of Abby’s research, and this provided some downside protection by lowering the breakeven price to $160.65.