Marriott Plans 40 more properties in Middle East and Africa

Marriott International, which is the second biggest hotel chain in the US, is aiming to open another 40 properties in the Middle East and North Africa, better known as the MENA region. Marriott Lodging International president and managing director Ed Fuller has revealed that they plan to open these new locations by 2014.

Fuller said that the Middle East has huge potential on the market for Marriott to expand their worldwide businesses. They already have 21 hotels open and operating in the area, he continued, and another 9 are located mostly in North Africa. Right now they have a good 40 properties announced as part of an expansion plan in the MENA region, Fuller said, explaining that the locations are under development and will begin operations between now and 2014.

Fuller also said that Marriott has 3 new properties to manage in Abu Dhabi, and they will also operate between now and 2014. He went on to say that they hope to open more properties in Doha by the end of this year or start of next year, as they are currently under construction. They also have another project or two that are still under negotiation and haven’t formally been announced, which gives them 5-6 properties in the region this year, he added.

Furthermore, Fuller noted that some of the biggest hotels operated by Marriott are located in the MENA. He said that the biggest is the JW Marriott in Dubai, which has 1,600 rooms and was announced during the Arabian Travel Market last year.

Aside from the hotels they plan to open in the MENA region, Marriott is aiming to open a total of 25,000 to 30,000 more rooms around the world this year. Only 1,500 of these will open in the MENA.