Marriott Remains Committed to Responsible Development and Places High Value on Destination Stewardship

Dubai, United Arab Emirates ? Mar. 11, 2008 ? In anticipation of the one billion international tourism arrivals expected by 2010, Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) plans to add more than 140 hotels and resorts outside the U.S. and Canada, representing more than 34,000 rooms in 43 countries over the next four years. 

These new hotels are part of Marriott International's global growth strategy in which more than 125,000 rooms were under construction, awaiting conversion or approved for development at yearend 2007.

The international expansion is being fueled by an exploding, worldwide middle class and rising consumer confidence coupled with a desire to satisfy individual tastes and interests. It is expected to result in Marriott International outside the U.S. and Canada either managing or franchising nearly 500 hotels and offering travelers a choice of approximately 126,000 guest rooms by the end of 2011.

Represented in this expansion are Marriott International hotel brands in the luxury, deluxe, mid-market and extended stay travel segments, with the largest concentration of openings in the near term taking place in China, India, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.

"We have signed contracts for all 140 hotels and are excited to be in a position to respond so positively to this coming wave of travelers," said Ed Fuller, president & managing director of international lodging at Marriott.  "Thanks to our ability to deliver results even during uncertain times and the clear preference our hotels and brands enjoy among major customer groups, our lodging products continue to attract strong interest among global developers and investors."

Marriott's openings over the next four years include:

  • Luxury JW Marriott hotels in places like China, India, the UAE, Kazakhstan, Colombia and the United Kingdom

  • Deluxe Marriott-branded hotels in cities like Macao, Hong Kong, Pune (India), Dubai, Phuket and Mexico City

  • Deluxe Renaissance-branded hotels in cities and destinations including Bangalore, the Maldives, Curacao, Paris and Doha

  • Courtyard properties for upper mid-tier travelers in cities and destinations like Phuket, Aberdeen (Scotland), Budapest, Hangzhou (China) and Hyderabad

  • Marriott Executive Apartments for extended stay travelers in cities including, Guangzhou (China), Bangkok, Atyrau (Kazakhstan), Doha and Dubai.

In addition, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and Marriott's newly announced   Nickelodeon brand for customers who want to combine play and productivity at meetings and its high-end boutique brand Edition also recently announced aggressive growth goals outside the U.S. and Canada.

Mr. Fuller said that the global tourism industry can expect strong years ahead. He cited the "graying" populations of developed countries which tend to have more discretionary money to spend on travel, the pent-up demand for travel among those in emerging economies and the global middle class whose strong desire to discover new experiences and to learn about other cultures are reasons to be optimistic.

Among recent Marriott International developments he cited were:

  • Marriott's agreement with the Scandinavian Hospitality Group of Norway which is expected to result in up to 15 Marriott International-branded hotels in Scandinavia. Six hotels have been announced. They include: a Marriott hotel at the Oslo Airport and a Courtyard hotel at the Kristiansund Airport in Norway; a Renaissance property in Malmoe, Sweden, a Courtyard hotel in Stockholm and two Marriott ski resorts in Norway. All six are expected to open by the end of 2010.

  • The introduction of Marriott's popular Courtyard hotel brand in Thailand with a destination city-class Courtyard property in Bangkok and four family-friendly-oriented destination Courtyard hotels in Phuket and Hua Hin.

  • In Beijing, Marriott International is scheduled to have 10 hotels in operation in time for the Summer Olympic Games this August.

Sales from On-Line Sources Continue to Grow 

Mr. Fuller said that sales from online sources continued to have another banner year in 2007, growing 28 percent over the previous year. Marriott.com has become the single largest face of Marriott to the customer with more than 10 million unique visitors a month.  In 2007, Marriott.com generated $5.2 billion in sales and ranks eighth as the world's top electronic consumer retail site. Meanwhile, sales for Marriott International rooms through the Global Distribution Channels continue to account for 19 percent of all hotel sales through these channels, even though the Marriott portfolio accounts for seven percent of all hotel rooms worldwide.

Sustainable Development a Must 

Mr. Fuller did caution, however, that responsible and sustainable development is an imperative.

"Sustainability is the key here if we are to reap the many positive benefits of increased travel and tourism," he said. "We must all do our part. The travel industry is the biggest in the world and promises to grow exponentially over the next 50 years. We cannot ignore the realities.  Those of us in the travel industry have a role to play now in reducing our impact on the air we breathe, the water we drink and the destinations where we do business."

To that end, among many internal initiatives such as tree-planting programs, Marriott International recently announced the following:

  • a goal to reduce greenhouse gasses by 1 million tons by 2010

  • a program to replace 4,500 outdoor signs with LED and fiber optic technology that has yielded a 40 percent reduction in outdoor advertising energy use in its first year

  • a reduction in water consumption over 15 percent over the last five years

  • a program in which 96 percent of all its hotels recycle.

(Note: in 2007, Marriott International was the first company to receive Conde Nast Traveler magazine's  "World Savers Award" in recognition of its global community engagement programs.)  

"Let's face it: when travelers make their buying decision, they generally do not select a destination because they want to stay in a particular hotel. They pick a destination because they want to experience its cultural or culinary attractions, environmental areas or places of historical significance. It is our duty to protect and preserve these destinations," Mr. Fuller said.

-Ends-

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) is a leading lodging company with about  3,000 lodging properties in the United States and 67 other countries and territories.  Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Bulgari brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club, Horizons by Marriott Vacation Club, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Grand Residences by Marriott brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers.  The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Md., and had approximately 151,000 employees at 2007 year-end.  It is ranked as the lodging industry's most admired company and one of the best companies to work for by FORTUNE®, and has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the 2007 Sustained Excellence Award and Partner of the Year since 2004.  In fiscal year 2007, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of $13 billion.  For more information or reservations, please visit our web site at www.marriott.com.

For more information, please contact
Ghada Kammoun/ Naeem Badiuzzaman
BPG Public Relations,
Dubai,
Tel: +9714-295 3456;
Fax: +9714-295 1027
E-mail: gkammoun@batespangulf.com / naeem@batespangulf.com

© Press Release 2008