Marriott International said it expects its portfolio of hotels either open or under development to surpass one million rooms by the end of 2015.
When open, the hotels under development will have generated more than $50 billion in real estate investment globally by Marriott’s owner partners and created more than 150,000 new hotel jobs.
“In 2014 alone, Marriott signed agreements for more than 650 hotels and 100,000 rooms to be added to its worldwide system over the next few years, a signing pace of nearly two new hotel deals a day,” says Arne Sorenson, Marriott’s president and CEO.
The company’s growth profile has been building steadily, opening 46,000 rooms worldwide in 2014 and boosting the pipeline of new hotel development to nearly 240,000. New hotels will expand Marriott’s presence to more than 100 countries.
“Our success has been boosted by a number of factors, including our continental leadership structure that connects our local development teams with development partners and lenders, the continuity of our senior development team, and the introduction of new brands, which accounted for nearly 40 percent of our new room openings this past year,” Tony Capuano, Marriott’s executive vice president and chief development officer, says.
Marriott’s growth is significant on a regional basis. In North America, the company is entering new secondary and tertiary markets as well as adding to its strength in the largest cities. In Asia, the company expects to more than double its distribution as hotel projects in the current pipeline open, more than doubling Marriott’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The company also expects its robust growth will continue in the Middle East and Africa, where Marriott’s portfolio could expand by more than 75 percent, and the Caribbean and Latin America, where its system size could increase by nearly 50 percent. In Europe, the company’s aggressive growth plans will leverage a broad portfolio of brands, including Moxy, a new stylish budget alternative for travelers with a Millennial mindset.
