BETHESDA, Md. — Hotel operator Marriott International Inc. said yesterday its third-quarter income rose 12 percent as higher room rates more than offset a relatively small financial impact from Hurricane Katrina.

Marriott, the world's largest hotel chain, said its profit was $149 million, or 65 cents per share, in the 12-week quarter ending Sept. 9. That was up from the $133 million, or 56 cents per share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

The results included a $17 million, or 5 cents-per-share, charge related to a Marriott investment in a Delta Air Lines leveraged lease. The airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month. Excluding the charge, earnings were 70 cents per share, 6 cents per share better than the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Third-quarter revenues were $2.7 billion, an 18 percent increase over the 2004 third-quarter revenue of $2.3 billion. Management fees that the company charges its franchisees were up 11 percent to $108 million, and the rates at company-operated properties worldwide were up 8.7 percent.

Revenue per available room, an industry benchmark also known as RevPAR, rose 8.8 percent at North American properties and 9.2 percent at Marriott's largest brand names, such as Ritz-Carlton, J.W. Marriott and Marriott.

Hurricane Katrina forced the company to temporarily close 16 hotels in the New Orleans area, where it has the largest presence of any hotel chain. Marriott said 12 would be reopened by the end of the week, mostly housing recovery workers, insurance agents and others helping with cleanup.

While the physical impact on Marriott hotels was large, the financial effects of Katrina are not, according to Chief Financial Officer Arne Sorensen. Any loss in revenue likely will be covered by insurance, he said, and the Bethesda-based hotel management company owns relatively few of the hotels it runs, shielding it from property damage costs.

Roughly $13 million in group business has been moved to hotels in other markets, Sorensen said.

He estimated only $1 million in lost management-fee income during the third quarter, along with a $1 million donation the company made to relief efforts.

Shares of Marriott rose 54 cents to close at $63.71 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded in a 52-week range between $52.41 and $70.78.