Marriott International, the Washington-headquartered hotel group with some 2,800 properties worldwide, is expanding its portfolio in the Middle East to increase room supply by more than 250% in the next five years.
The group plans to open a further 16 hotels in the region by 2010, eight of which will be in the United Arab Emirates and open in 2009. The new properties will increase the company”s current hotel portfolio in the Middle East by 54% and form part of Marriott”s plan to increase its portfolio to 100,000 rooms during the next three years.
”Recently the World Travel & Tourism Council predicted that tourism will claim about 10% of all Middle East investment each year until 2016,” said managing director international lodging, Ed Fuller.
”It is clear that local investors and developers have recognised that travellers prefer our hotel brands and that we have the strongest distribution channels and marketing muscle to virtually ensure a hotel being a success from day one.”
The eight properties to open in the Middle East include two hotels in Sharjah ”Marriott Executive Apartments and Marriott Resort & Spa; a JW Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott and Executive Apartments in Dubai Lifestyle City; a Renaissance and Courtyard in Dubai Motorcity; and a Resort & Spa in Ras Al-Khaimah.
The remaining eight properties include Executive Apartments in Bahrain (opening this year) and a Renaissance on Bahrain”s Amwaj Island (2008); a Renaissance, Courtyard by Marriott and Executive Apartments in Doha (all opening 2008); Executive Apartments in Cairo (2009); a JW Marriott in Jordan (2009); and lastly a Renaissance in Dubai Marina (2010).