At the America’s Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles, Marriott International announced that it had the fastest-growing new-construction pipeline in the industry, worldwide, in 2013 – based on information published by Smith Travel Research. Furthermore, Marriott reported that it signed more than one hotel project per day last year, totalling 387 hotels and 67,000 rooms. The company opened nearly 26,000 new rooms in 2013 and, given its strong pipeline, expects new hotel openings to accelerate in 2014 and 2015.
In 2013, Marriott increased its total development pipeline by over 30%. At year-end 2013, Marriott had more than 195,000 rooms under development across five continents, compared to 176,000 rooms at the end of the third quarter and 143,000 rooms just a year ago. At year-end 2013, the company’s global pipeline included 72,000 hotel rooms under construction, 83,000 rooms signed but not yet under construction, 11,000 rooms awaiting conversion to one of Marriott’s brands, and 29,000 rooms for projects that have been approved for development but not yet signed.
Fueling this success is Marriott’s extensive lineup of 18 brands, the broadest in the lodging industry, including its luxury and lifestyle portfolio, which accounts for nearly 25 percent of the company’s overall pipeline.
“Our luxury and lifestyle portfolio of 438 hotels across nine brands is robust,” says Arne Sorenson, president and CEO at Marriott International. “The Ritz-Carlton is recognised as one of the world’s most iconic luxury brands and is expanding outside the US. At the same time, we are rapidly growing new brands such as Edition, Moxy Hotels, AC Hotels by Marriott and Autograph Collection, all brand innovations that position us well with customers looking for a different type of experience.”
Edition, a full-service, luxury lifestyle brand conceived in collaboration with hotelier Ian Schrager, continues to receive rave reviews following the opening of The London Edition in 2013. Edition is gaining ground, with 10 hotels open or in the signed pipeline, including The Miami Beach Edition, scheduled to open later this year. Future hotels are planned for Abu Dhabi (2015); Gurgaon, India (2015); Manhattan Madison Avenue, NYC (2015); Sanya, China (2015); Bangkok (2016); and West Hollywood (2017); as well as the just announced Times Square Edition in New York (2017).
Moxy Hotels is on track to open its first hotel in Milan, Italy, in August, and additional properties are expected to open in six other European markets in 2015. Combining contemporary design and approachable service at an affordable price, Moxy is projected to reach 150 hotels in the next 10 years.
The fastest hotel brand launch in the industry, Autograph Collection, has added nearly 60 hotels since its 2010 introduction at ALIS. Autograph Collection harnesses the power of Marriott’s global sales, marketing and revenue engines for independent hotel owners.
“Marriott’s determined focus on powerful brands and global growth has delivered unparalleled results,” says Tony Capuano, executive vice president and chief development officer at Marriott International. “In 2013, we completed the largest number of new hotel deals in our company’s history – a pace of more than one new hotel project every day, benefitting from our partners’ improved access to capital, rising consumer demand in major markets, the impact of the growing middle classes in Asia and Africa, and greater international travel than ever before.”
In Africa, Marriott expects to complete the acquisition of the Protea Hospitality Holdings‘ brands and its management business in April 2014. With Protea, Marriott will nearly double its distribution in the Middle East and Africa to 23,000 rooms and become the largest hotelier on the African continent.
In the Asia Pacific region, Marriott expects to open a hotel every week across 10 different brands, doubling in size, reaching 330 hotels with more than 96,000 rooms across 16 countries by 2016. In 2013, Marriott signed agreements to add 78 new hotels and more than 22,000 rooms in the Asia Pacific region, an industry-leading pace.
In the US, Marriott ended 2013 with more than 22,000 hotel rooms under construction. In fact, Marriott operates or franchises one of every five new hotel rooms that opened in the US last year. Driving these results is Marriott’s broad brand lineup, including the company’s newest brand in the US, AC by Marriott. Inspired by the fashion houses of Milan and already successful in Europe, AC by Marriott will open its first hotel in the US in Miami this year, with 16 other projects under contract (totalling 3215 rooms) around the globe.
“Staying focused on our strategy of global growth and brand differentiation has paid off for Marriott and its owners and franchisees,” says Arne. “We look forward to opening even more hotels in 2014 and beyond, introducing Marriott and its brands to new guests and welcoming loyal customers to new and exciting locations across the globe.”
