MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL TO OPEN SIX HOTELS IN MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA IN NEXT 15 MONTHS

New Hotels in Cairo and Taba Are in Marriott’s Plans for Egypt

Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) will open five hotels in the Middle East in the next 15 months, announced Ed Fuller, president and managing director of international lodging for Marriott International.

“We are excited and pleased to see our lodging portfolio in the region grow so dramatically,” Mr. Fuller said. “When these six hotels are opened, our portfolio in the region will grow to 27 properties, offering more than 8,000 rooms and four lodging brands in 10 countries. This growth represents a 29 percent increase in the number of hotels and a 20 percent increase in rooms.”

Key among the new hotels are two properties that will open in Egypt: the 310-room Taba Marriott Hotel & Beach Resort on the Red Sea and the 347-room JW Marriott Mirage City Resort Cairo. Both will open early next year and will expand Marriott’s portfolio in Egypt to six hotels employing more than 2,500 people.

“We are especially pleased to see our Egyptian hotel product grow, because this will enable us to employ operational and marketing synergies between all six properties and create exceptional career advancement opportunities for our associates,” he said.

Mr. Fuller noted that Marriott began operating hotels in the Middle East 20 years ago when the 395-room Riyadh Marriott opened in Saudi Arabia. The company was first represented in Egypt by the 1,250-room Cairo Marriott, which opened in 1982.

In addition to the two Egyptian properties, Marriott International will open the following hotels in the region over the next 15 months:

- the 178-room Renaissance Tunis Hotel. This property will be Marriott’s first hotel in Tunisia.
- the 100-room Courtyard by Marriott Petra in Jordan. This hotel will be Marriott’s first moderately priced lodging product in the Middle East.
- the 216-room Jordan Valley Marriott Resort at the Dead Sea in Jordan. It will be Marriott’s third hotel in Jordan.
- the 150-room Madinah Marriott Hotel in Saudi Arabia. It will be the third Marriott hotel in the country.

In Egypt, Marriott is currently represented by the following four hotels:

- the 1,250-room Cairo Marriott
- the 283-room Hurgada Marriott Beach Resort
- the 216-room Sharm El Sheikh Marriott Beach Resort
- the 171-room Renaissance Alexandria Hotel

In addition to its presence in Egypt, Marriott International currently operates properties in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar and Bahrain in the Middle East.