Marriott builds Australia portfolio

Marriott International is on track to hit a target of 50 hotels for its Australia, New Zealand and Pacific portfolio by the end of 2020, following the announcement of the acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

With 24 hotels currently in operation and a pipeline of signed and approved deals totaling an additional 18 properties, Marriott is on track to grow to 50 hotels over the next four years across the region, which includes Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji and New Caledonia.

These properties will provide more than 2,500 hotel jobs and add more than 4,500 rooms.
Marriott International president and managing director Asia Pacific, Craig S. Smith said the company was significantly growing the footprint in the Australia, New Zealand and Pacific region, and will continue to build this leadership position in gateway markets.

“We currently have seven of our 30 brands represented here and we look forward to introducing more in the coming years.”

“Growth in the region has been strong in recent years and we hope to build on that growth now that the Starwood deal has closed. We are growing an in-market development team, including specialist feasibility and architecture, and construction capabilities, which will make a huge difference in our ability to respond to a high level of new project enquiry. Demand continues to be high from both consumers and developers, and with the wide variety of brands available, from mid-scale to luxury, we expect more great opportunities to brand further high quality, international-standard hotels in the region.”

Marriott has a strong market presence in the key gateway cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, and will be entering emerging primary and secondary destinations, with the signings of Four Points by Sheraton Parramatta, The Westin Resort & Spa Coolum, Aloft Adelaide and Sheraton Adelaide Hotel.

Three additional brands, Aloft, W and The Ritz-Carlton are expected to be introduced to the region by the end of 2020, with the W Brisbane and Aloft Perth scheduled to open in 2017, followed by Aloft Melbourne South Yarra and Aloft Adelaide in 2019, and The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne and The Ritz-Carlton, Perth slated for 2020.