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Marriott outlines major expansion with 30% worldwide room growth
Marriott plans to add up to 69,000 rooms in North America and increase its number of rooms worldwide by more than 30% by the end of 2009.
Marriott plans to add up to 100,000 hotel rooms worldwide between 2007 and 2009, representing 5 to 6% net annual compound growth, the company says.
By the year 2009, Marriott expects to have 600,000 rooms.
The company should have about 120,000 rooms outside North America at year-end 2009, it announced.
“The lodging industry is a global business. And three factors dominate it: global wealth, demographics and trade,” said J.W. Marriott Jr., chairman and CEO of Marriot International.
He pointed out that three billion people, or half the world’s population, have entered the global economy in the past 15 years.
He said Marriott is poised to capitalize on huge demographic changes such as India’s vastly widening middle class.
Mr Marriott said Marriott service had a vast influence on its corporate culture that was not easily replaceable.
“Customer loyalty is driven by a strong corporate culture,” he said.
The company’s fastest-growing brand, and its second most profitable, is Courtyard.
Marriott expects to add over 130 Courtyards in North America and double its properties outside this area, according to William J. Shaw, Marriott International’s president and COO.
“Courtyard is a brand with great global promise — in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America,” he said.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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