Marriott To Double In Middle East

4Hoteliers:

New development announcements include the company’s record-setting pipeline of international hotels which has grown to nearly 40,000 rooms and 150 properties.

In Dubai during a whirlwind trip including high-level meetings, visits with company employees and a major speech, the head of Marriott International, Inc. also took the next steps to ultimately more than double the company’s hotels in the region as he signed 4 development transactions in 3 countries.

In separate ceremonies with Marriott’s local development partners, J.W. ‘Bill’ Marriott, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Marriott International, will sign new development agreements that will add to the company’s already record-setting pipeline of hotels planned or under construction outside of North America. In the Middle East alone, the company expects to expand its current portfolio of properties from 26 to 65 through 2011. With the signings involving nine properties and 2,000 rooms, Marriott’s Middle East hotel pipeline now stands at 39.