Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Developing and Marketing MFT Products and Services
In the OIC Member Countries
26
The top five accommodation services from the hotel and motel industry include Carnival,
Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Accor. The
revenues for these companies in 2014 are listed below: 25
 Carnival - $15.8 billion
 Marriott International – $13.8 billion
 HiltonWorldwide Holdings – $10.5 billion
 Royal Caribbean - $8.1 billion
 Accor – KLM - $7.2 billion
Marriott is an American hospitality company, which offers a large portfolio of hotels and related
lodging facilities. Marriott has been recognized for digital innovation with its “Travel Brilliantly”
site, which allows guests to submit user-generated content through the web.
Airbnb was founded in 2008 as an online lodging website, to list, find or rent an accommodation
for a set period of time. Airbnb has reached 34,000 cities in 190 countries and has taken share of
the hotel and accommodation industry globally. In 2015, the number of guests staying with
Airbnb hosts during the summer reached 17 million.
In specific countries, there are also examples of innovative hotels and guesthouses. The
Treehotel, a Swedish hotel company, which has “treerooms”, which are hotel rooms on treetops
that are off the ground and eco-friendly designed, with hydroelectric underfloor heating. Another
company with an innovative concept is the Whitepod hotel, in the heart of the Swiss Alps that has
futuristic igloos lit by lanterns. 26
Food and Beverage is a major sector within global tourism that accounts for consumption by
tourists in restaurants, cafes, and caterers. International travelers have been estimated to spend
14 percent of industry revenue on food and beverage.
 Yelp is a crowdsourcing review website that provides reviews for food and beverage
restaurants, cafes and cuisines around the world. Yelp was founded in 2004, went public
in 2012 and had $550 million in revenue in 2015.
 OpenTable is an online restaurant reservation service, founded in 1998, with
reservations in over 30,000 restaurants globally. OpenTable went public in 2009 and
was acquired by Priceline in 2014 for $2.6 billion.
 Elevation Burger is a burger chain, which is expanding to international markets and is
gaining traction by consumers due to its natural and organic produced meat.
 Meal Sharing is a company that connects travelers with locals to share home cooked
meals in local communities. Hosts are able to prepare a menu for travelers and collect
payment through the site.
Activities are any type of recreational or attraction service, which includes attractions and
guided tours, recreational activities, scenic views, entertainment and festivals or events.
Although these activities may be considered non-essential, they account for over 20 percent of
industry revenue.
25 ”The World’s Biggest Public Companies.” Forbes. 2015
26 Dunne, Carey. 10 of the World’s most Innovative Hotels.” Web. 19 Feb. 2014