[saryant]

I don't know where this trope came from but the big hotel chains most definitely do not own all their properties. They provide brand standards, a common reservations system, customer service and a loyalty program (which can be incredibly lucrative by itself).

But they definitely do not own all their hotels. Marriott-owned properties number in the low double-digits.

[mrgordon]

Well Marriott still manages to have 200,000 employees operating the hotels (per rokhayakebe's numbers) so its not like they've contracted out running the hotels for a fixed cost or something. They're doing a lot more than running a reservation and customer service system.