Marriott International , the largest U.S. hotel company by market value, posted a higher quarterly profit on Wednesday as room rates rose in North America for the first time in about two years.

The operator of Marriott, Residence Inn and Ritz-Carlton hotels posted earnings of $119 million, or 31 cents per share, for the second quarter ended June 18, compared with $37 million, or 10 cents per share a year ago.

The company had earlier forecast earnings between 25 cents and 29 cents per share.

Revenue for the quarter was $2.8 billion, up from $2.6 billion a year ago. Total expenses rose slightly to $2.5 billion.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman, editing by Bernard Orr)