Marriott International plans luxury expansion

Marriott International has announced plans to open more than 30 new luxury properties across the globe in 2020 through its portfolio of high-end brands.

The group will utilise its Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, St Regis Hotels & Resorts, W Hotels, Luxury Collection, Edition, JW Marriott and Bvlgari brands to grow its presence in the luxury space, saying the move is in response to the growing trend of ‘transformative travel’.

Ritz-Carlton will open properties in Morocco, Japan, Mexico City, Arizona and China, while its hotel in South Beach, Florida is in the final stages of a complete refurbishment. It also expects to launch the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection in June 2020.

Meanwhile, St Regis will introduce hotels in Cairo, Mexico and Dubai and W Hotels will see openings in Nashville, Philadelphia, Toronto, Chengdu, Melbourne, Milan and Rome.

Also in 2020 will be the openings of Edition properties in Reykjavik, Tokyo and Dubai, as well as Luxury Collection hotels in Nashville, Budapest and Hobart in Australia.

Lastly, JW Marriott plans to grow its portfolio to 115 hotels by 2022, with properties set to open in Savannah (Georgia), Orlando and Anaheim, as well as Istanbul, Danang, Nara (Japan), Muscat and Monterrey (Mexico) over the next year.

As a whole, Marriott International has more than 185 luxury properties in its signed development pipeline that could add more than 15 new countries and territories to its portfolio. The group has taken a particular focus in Africa and the Middle East across all of its brands this year, with 19 hotels added.

Tina Edmundson, global brand officer and luxury portfolio leader at Marriott International, said: “Across our luxury brands portfolio, we will continue to incubate innovation and apply fresh thinking, both at the brand level and across our individual hotels, as we seek to be future forward, push boundaries and continue to raise the bar by creating new, unexpected and enriching guest experiences.”

Tony Capuano, EVP and global chief development officer, added: “Our plan to open more than 30 luxury properties in 2020 – an average of about three exciting new hotels per month – speaks to the remarkable momentum that brands such as St Regis, the Ritz-Carlton and Edition have with affluent travellers, our Marriott Bonvoy members and hotel developers around the world. Each year, our luxury portfolio continues to grow in both quality and quantity in strategic destinations around the world.”