If the thought of another year crawling to a close has left you feeling a little low, November is the perfect time to give yourself a travel-fueled lift, with an array of destinations primed for exploration during the penultimate month of the year.
10.09.2023 - 13:09 / forbes.com / Carlton Reserve / Leeny Oberg
One of the largest hospitality companies in the world is continuing to grow and evolve as market conditions change. Post-pandemic, people are working, traveling and vacationing in new ways. Marriott International is adapting to fit this new world by introducing (and continuing) innovative initiatives to stay relevant to both consumers and investors.
“Our goal is to be everywhere our guests want us to be, with the right property in the right location at the right price point,” said Leeny Oberg, chief financial officer and executive vice president, development, Marriott International. Here’s how Marriott is doing just that.
Last year, more than half of Marriott’s new rooms in the region were conversions, a signal that hotel owners see strength in the company’s distribution, reputation and 30+ brands. In the first quarter of 2023, there were already more than 3,000 conversion rooms in the works. Hotel owners cite greater visibility and the opportunity to leverage costs as part of a larger entity as reasons to join the Marriott fold.
Among the most celebrated conversions to Marriott are Sanctuary Cap Cana, a Luxury Collection Adult All-Inclusive Resort, Dominican Republic, that was previously operating as an independent, and JW Marriott Hotel São Paulo, which brought Marriott’s luxury portfolio to the largest city in South America. Hospitality brands like Marriott can grow faster through conversions, especially when targeting particular regions of the world.
Marriott has more than 120 hotels in Africa with more on the way. With the recent opening of JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge in Kenya, Marriott dipped its toes into the high-end safari travel market. Seeing success and future potential, it is announcing another luxury property in Tanzania with JW Marriott Serengeti Lodge expected to open in 2026. Marriott will be one of the few brand names to operate in this space joining hotel companies like Fairmont and Kempinski that have had safari properties for many years.
Marriott’s reach in Africa, in general, is growing, too. When Marriott acquired Starwood, it gained French-born Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts, which already had a substantial portfolio on the continent. Then Marriott added South Africa’s Protea Hotels, a brand it continues to grow with new hotels in Nigeria and Botswana. A new property will open in Stone Town on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar later this year, and by 2025, the first Protea by Marriott will open in Ethiopia, near Lake Tana.
It’s not just Africa and Latin America that are big for Marriott, the hospitality company is making tremendous inroads with other emerging markets. Marriott is set to announce its 500th hotel in China this year with the Rissai Valley, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve,
If the thought of another year crawling to a close has left you feeling a little low, November is the perfect time to give yourself a travel-fueled lift, with an array of destinations primed for exploration during the penultimate month of the year.
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