Marriott Ramps Up Growth in China - JW Marriott Hotel Beijing Designated Company's '3,000th' Hotel
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Marriott Ramps Up Growth in China - JW Marriott Hotel Beijing Designated Company's '3,000th' Hotel
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Category: Asia Pacific
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2007-09-26
J.W. Marriott, Jr., chairman and CEO, Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR), today officially designated the luxurious 23-story, 588-room JW Marriott Hotel Beijing as the company’s “3,000th” property. Marriott’s global growth is unprecedented in its 80-year history, adding more than 100 hotels through the first half of 2007. Over half of the company’s full-service hotel development pipeline is outside North America. For footage of the official ceremony in Beijing, go to http://usng.pondeserver.com/story_details.asp?fn=111 [Username: Marriott
Password: media].
By the opening of the 2008 Olympics, Marriott expects to operate 11 hotels in Beijing to help accommodate the two million visitors expected to visit the city. Another 20 Marriott International-branded hotels are scheduled to open in China through the year 2010.
“With 18 brands globally, we have the broadest lodging and timeshare portfolio in the world, and by year-end 2009, we expect to reach a total of nearly 600,000 rooms, including 120,000 outside the U.S.,” said Mr. Marriott. “Achieving this milestone would not have been possible without the dedication and support of our associates, investors, owners and franchisees. Most importantly, we thank the millions of guests around the world who choose Marriott every day.”
The JW Marriott Hotel Beijing is owned by Hua Mao Surapan Hotel Development Company, Ltd. and will open in November, along with the 305-room The Ritz-Carlton, Beijing. Located in the heart of the capital city, the two hotels anchor Beijing’s newest and most prestigious luxury address, China Central Place.
“During my visit, I have been very impressed with the city’s drive, energy and focus as it prepares for next summer’s Olympic Games,” Mr. Marriott said. “We are thrilled to be part of these exciting times for China and Beijing and look forward to doing our part to help host a historic and memorable experience for all of our guests.”
Marriott’s growth story in China is part of a global expansion that also includes repositioning the company’s core brands and adding new brands to attract emerging customer segments. This spring, the company launched two brands: a partnership with Nickelodeon and Miller Global Properties, LLC to co-develop a breakthrough concept for families, Nickelodeon Resorts by Marriott, as well as a partnership with boutique pioneer Ian Schrager to develop a new boutique lifestyle hotel brand for the growing lifestyle-conscious guest.
A series of bold innovations, exciting designs and new guest services have also been introduced across many of the company’s brands. For its full-service Marriott and Renaissance hotels, the company launched the “great room,” a revolutionary transformation of public space designed for today’s travelers, who smoothly transition between work and play. In addition, both brands offer the cutting-edge “plug-in” connectivity panel that allows guests to turn in-room 32-inch flat-screen TVs into personal entertainment centers.
The company’s select-service and extended-stay brands are also undergoing a variety of makeovers. Courtyard and Residence Inn hotels feature the newest generation of designs, and SpringHill Suites is being repositioned as the preferred moderate-tier brand for active, style-conscious GenXers. TownePlace Suites, Marriott’s moderately priced extended-stay brand, is reinventing itself to meet the needs of a growing segment of “do-it-yourself” travelers. Every room is a suite with functional space for living and working and each hotel specializes in helping the guest settle into the local area. Fairfield Inn, Marriott’s most affordable brand, has more than 100 newly designed hotels in the pipeline.
Marriott opened its first hotel in China, the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, in 1989, which was also the first hotel in the Asia-Pacific region. In less than 20 years, Marriott’s portfolio in China has grown to encompass more than 30 hotels offering 11,547 rooms representing the following six hotel brands: JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts; The Ritz-Carlton Hotels; Marriott Hotels & Resorts; Renaissance Hotels & Resorts; Courtyard by Marriott and Marriott Executive Apartments.
The JW Marriott Hotel Beijing will have five restaurants and lounges for dining and entertainment. A popular feature of the hotel will be the award-winning, luxurious Quan Spa. Respecting the traditional meaning of spas as providing for “health through water,” the Quan Spa will offer Vichy rain shower treatments, private hot tubs and products from Thalgo, which use ingredients from the ocean. The spa’s signature treatment will be an Indoceane Ritual that will combine an exotic beauty elixir for the skin with a relaxing sensorial journey consisting of four steps – Mediterranean, Egyptian, Indian and Chinese.
A bold, forward-thinking complex, China Central Place includes more than 230,000 square meters of high-end office space; eight residential towers; 160,000 square meters of luxury-brand retail shops such as Ferragamo and Gucci; and spacious green areas and a sports center.
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