Marriott Plans to Double Presence in Europe by 2015

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Mar 09, 2010, 07:00 ET

BERLIN and BETHESDA, Md., March 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As part of a global reorganization aimed at accelerating worldwide growth, Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) plans to double its portfolio in Europe by 2015. Amy McPherson, president and managing director of Marriott International Europe, made the announcement today at the International Hotel Investment Forum here.

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Celebrating 35 years in Europe this year, Marriott International is represented with 174 hotels in Europe, and envisions increasing its portfolio from 40,000 rooms to 80,000 rooms by 2015. Seven of Marriott's 18 brands are represented currently in Europe: Ritz-Carlton, Bvlgari, JW Marriott, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Renaissance Hotels, Courtyard by Marriott and Marriott Executive Apartments. In addition, the first European Residence Inn, an extended-stay brand, will open in Munich in 2012.

The development pipeline in Europe includes nearly 30 projects including the Renaissance Moscow Monarch Center Hotel (2010), the Courtyard by Marriott Budapest (2010) and the JW Marriott Hotel Ankara (2010).

"We see strong opportunity throughout Europe to grow our portfolio," said Arne Sorenson, president and chief operating officer of Marriott International. "Our new operating structure, comprised of four continental divisions including Europe, will help facilitate global growth and bring our teams closer to markets and to our customers. We have tremendous opportunities to grow, with over a third of our current pipeline and about half of our full-service openings this year located in markets outside North America."

Said McPherson, "Europe is the largest lodging market in the world and holds enormous potential for Marriott. Our talented new team here is aggressively accelerating our focus on growth."

"With a footing in most of Europe's gateway cities, we are thrilled to see our expansion continue into secondary cities and emerging markets. We are confident we are well- positioned to achieve this ambitious expansion goal," she said.

Named the head of Marriott's European operating division in July 2009, McPherson is responsible for almost $3 billion in revenue across 24 countries and 23 languages and the performance and growth of this new division that combines the former United Kingdom & Ireland and Continental Europe regions. McPherson joined Marriott in 1986 and most recently served as Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing.

Expansion plans for Europe also include two new brands: Edition, a boutique-lifestyle collaboration between Ian Schrager and Marriott; and the Autograph Collection, comprised of independent hotels and resorts from around the world representing upper-upscale and luxury properties with distinctive personalities.

"We expect the Autograph Collection will be a very popular conversion brand in Europe given the region's variety of iconic, independent and small hotel groups," said Carlton Ervin, chief development officer for Marriott International in Europe. Ervin added that hotel owners in Europe recognize the value of Marriott's brand preference and superior systems, sales and technology platforms.

Note: The statements about the numbers of new hotels and rooms we expect to add by 2015 are "forward looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities laws, not historical facts, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the continuation and pace of the economic recovery; supply and demand changes for hotel rooms; competitive conditions in the lodging industry; relationships with clients and property owners; the availability of capital to finance hotel growth and refurbishment; and other risk factors identified in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K; any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by our statement. These statements are made as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC. (NYSE: MAR) is a leading lodging company with more than 3,400 lodging properties in 68 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, The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, The Ritz-Carlton Residences 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, Maryland, USA and had approximately 137,000 employees at 2009 year-end. It is recognized by FORTUNE® as one of the best companies to work for, and by Newsweek as one of the greenest big companies in America. In fiscal year 2009, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of nearly $11 billion. For more information or reservations, please visit our web site at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com.