Marriott plans 71 hotels in Middle East and Africa

Source:  www.zawya.com

Marriot International aims to have 71 more hotels across 10 countries in the Middle East and Africa, spread across six lodging brands by the end of 2014.

A top company executive confirmed the news to Emirates Business, saying that this would add 18,000 rooms to its portfolio, with 90 per cent of its future growth set to emerge from full-service hotels.

Speaking to this newspaper, Don Semmler, Executive Vice-President, Global Full Service Brands, Marriot International, said: “I think full-service brands will be very powerful in the Middle East in future.

“Looking at our own luxury brands, future growth in the JW Marriott and The Ritz Carlton would be concentrated in this region and in Asia.”

The company has already confirmed 19 projects that are scheduled to open doors in the region by 2014. Beyond this, it is also looking into the possibility of introducing two more brands from its global portfolio of 11, including its latest launch, The Autograph Collection.

“We rolled out Autograph just earlier this year and it really is the fastest-growing brand in our bouquet of brands, going from concept to marketing in six months alone,” said Semmler.

“Currently, eight hotels [are] already operational. We have signed on another seven franchises, have 14 management agreements and have another 25 that should be signed before the year end,” he added.

Asked if an Autograph Collection franchise hotel could find its way into the region by Q4 2010, Semmler seemed hopeful. He said: “No deals have been signed yet, but we are quite aggressive for the brand here.”

Describing it as the smartphone of high personality hotels, he explained that each category was a different application that catered to the lifestyle and needs of individuals.

“These are high-end independent hotels, which are either franchises or can be managed by us,” he said. “Some of the that categories we have include ‘iconic-historic’, ’boutique arts’ or ‘urban edge’ hotels – each catering to different segments in the market.”

Does the Middle East need more luxury hotels, one wonders. Ask Semmler and his reply is: “We want to grow in the upscale and the luxury tier markets and growth is taking place there. However, the Autograph Collection hotels are high-end lifestyle properties such as The Address or the Armani Hotel. We believe this is an emerging market [in the region] and we will capitalise on just that.”

By Bindu Suresh Rai