Marriott International to expand in established and emerging global hotspots in 2020

5 min reading time

Published on 07/12/19 - Updated on 17/03/22

Marriott W, Nashville

With planned openings from Tokyo to Mexico City and Reykjavik to Melbourne, Marriott International will continue to create experiences through its portfolio of distinct luxury brands.

On December 4, Marriott International, Inc. signaled an ongoing commitment to upmarket hospitality, announcing plans to open more than 30 luxury properties in 2020. Through subsidiary brands The Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, W Hotels, The Luxury Collection, EDITION, JW Marriott and Bvlgari, Marriott currently operates more than 420 high-end hotels and resorts in nearly 65 countries and territories. Marriott International has more than 185 luxury properties in its signed development pipeline that could add more than 15 new countries and territories to the company’s luxury portfolio, from Iceland to Montenegro and the Philippines.

Tina Edmundson, Global Brand Officer and Luxury Portfolio Leader, Marriott International:

Celebrating the distinct nature and individuality of our luxury brands, Marriott International offers a diverse variety of nuanced brand experiences that speak to the needs of the modern luxury traveler. 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, Marriott International:

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 travelers, 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.

Marriott International retained The Future Laboratory to assist in identifying broad trends in luxury travel consumption and better target their luxury brand. According to Edmundson,

The concept of transformative travel – travel motivated and defined by a shift in perspective, self-reflection and development – has become more pronounced. It has given rise to ‘The Purposeful Luxurian,’ a new breed of traveler that is more progressive, proactive, and looking to affect positive change. This new global explorer views travel as a way to improve physical and mental well being, as well as a means to do good. We are defining the future of luxury travel by creating the real, rare and personal experiences this new Purposeful Luxurian craves.

The Ritz-Carlton brand recently celebrated the opening of its 100th property with the debut of The Ritz-Carlton, Perth, and expanded the Ritz-Carlton Reserve portfolio to four exceptional properties with the opening of Zadún, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Los Cabos, Mexico. In the 2020, the brand is expected to enter Morocco with the planned opening of The Ritz-Carlton Rabat, Dar es Salam in the country’s capital. The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko is slated to open in Japan, and a highly anticipated property is planned in Mexico City. Overlooking Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona, The Ritz-Carlton, Paradise Valley is slated to grow the brand’s resort portfolio, while the brand also anticipates an opening in Nanjing, China. Also of note is the planned completion of a major renovation of The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach. The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, a branded entry in the yacht charter market, is expected to be operational in June 2020.

The St. Regis brand is seeing further expansion with the opening of The St. Regis Venice, boasting a magnificent outdoor garden and one of the most coveted locations along the city’s famed Grand Canal. Currently offering 45 hotels in more than 20 countries and territories, in the year the brand ahead expects to open in Cairo and also add The St. Regis Maya and The St. Regis Dubai, The Palm to its resort portfolio.

For 2019, W Hotels saw expansion to new destinations including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Ibiza and Aspen: the brand’s first alpine destination in the United States. Multi-million-dollar renovations by owners are underway or completed at more than half the brand’s properties in North America, including W Washington D. C. and W San Francisco. In addition, the company recently announced plans to renovate flagship W New York – Union Square into a cutting-edge W Hotels showcase, advancing a larger strategy to redefine and reinvigorate the W portfolio in North America. The brand anticipates further growth in 2020, with expected openings in Nashville, Philadelphia, Toronto, Chengdu, and Melbourne. The brand is also slated to debut in Italy with the planned openings of W Milan and W Rome.

In 2019, the EDITION brand made global news with the debuts of The Times Square EDITION in New York and The West Hollywood EDITION in Los Angeles. Developed through a collaboration between boutique hotel creator and innovator Ian Schrager and Marriott International, the lifestyle brand is slated to bring its distinct point of view to the in-demand destination of Reykjavik in 2020. Additionally, with 10 hotels in six countries and territories, is expected soon in the global hotspots of Tokyo and Dubai.

With a rapidly growing ensemble of 114 hotels in more than 30 countries and territories around the world, The Luxury Collection continues to expand its footprint. In 2019, the brand celebrated the opening of North Island, Seychelles, the portfolio’s first private island destination, and welcomed properties in Cyprus, Nanning, Buckinghamshire, Kolkata and Çeşme. Looking to the year ahead, The Luxury Collection anticipates openings in coveted locations spanning the globe, including Nashville and Budapest, Hungary, as well as Hobart, Australia – a destination that signals the future of luxury travel.

JW Marriott operates nearly 90 properties around the world, including the recent, highly anticipated debut of JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa. Expected to reach more than 115 hotels by 2022, the year 2020 is slated to be a period of rapid growth for the brand, with planned U.S. openings in Savannah, Orlando and Anaheim, in addition to global destinations ranging from Istanbul and Danang, Vietnam, to Nara, Japan, Muscat, Oman and Monterrey, Mexico.

According to the ranking by Hospitality On, as of January 1, 2019, Marriott International had 484 hotels for 96,547 rooms.

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