MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL TO OPEN 14 HOTELS IN ASIA-PACIFIC OVER NEXT 18 MONTHS

Four JW Marriott Hotels, Two Executive Apartments, A Courtyard,

A Renaissance and Six Marriott-Branded Hotels to Be Added

Marriott International (NYSE:MAR) will open 14 hotels in the Asia-Pacific region over the next 18 months, announced Ed Fuller, president and managing director of international lodging for the company at the annual PATA Conference.

By the end of 2002, the Marriott International lodging portfolio in the region will grow to 87 hotels, offering 33,285 rooms and six brands in 13 countries. As a result of these openings, Marriott’s regional portfolio will grow by 15 percent in the number of hotels and by 10 percent in terms of rooms as compared with current levels.

“We are very excited by our continued growth despite the region’s recent economic difficulties ,” said Mr. Fuller. “To have come so far over the 12 years since we opened our first hotel in the region, the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, is by any measure a remarkable achievement for our Asia-Pacific development, operations and marketing teams, especially since the vast majority of these hotels are management contracts. Now that most of the Asian economies have begun recovering, we expect to see a return of long haul and regional travel among both business and leisure visitors. This bodes well for the future success of our regional lodging portfolio.”

Ten of the new hotels are scheduled to open this year, including the 185-room Rockman’s Regency Hotel in Melbourne, Australia, that is currently undergoing an extensive renovation program prior to being rebranded a Marriott. These hotels represent five of Marriott’s lodging brands and are spread across six countries.

“We’re especially heartened to see our regional portfolio gain depth in several important markets such as Thailand and Ho Chi Minh City and to watch our Executive Apartment brand extend its regional reach,” Mr. Fuller said.

JW Marriott Hotels, catering to discerning, upscale travelers who value a high level of personal service and a luxurious environment that is both understated and tasteful, will open in the following Asia-Pacific cities this year:

· 350-room JW Marriott Hotel Jakarta

· 265-room JW Marriott Resort & Spa Phuket

· 371-room JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai

· 362-room JW Marriott Hotel Shanghai

“The JW Marriott Resort & Spa Phuket is especially important for a number of reasons,” he said. “In the past decade, we have built a strong regional base of business customers and we are very pleased to offer than a purely leisure destination close to home. At the same time, this resort will complement our existing world-class Bangkok properties for visitors to Thailand and will be home to our first Marriott Vacation Club International vacation ownership property in the region.”

Mr. Fuller also said that the JW Marriott Resort & Spa Phuket is a prime example of the growing importance of spas in the Marriott International lodging portfolio. “In recent years here in Asia-Pacific, we have opened a number of world-class destination and day spas including the five-star destination spa at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa at Ko Olina, outside of Honolulu, and outstanding day spas in Bangkok, Brisbane and Seoul that command widespread appeal among visitors and local residents.”

The Marriott Executive Apartment brand is designed to appeal to business travelers who are on an overseas assignment of 30 days or more. This year, the 162-unit The Mayfair, Marriott Executive Apartment will open in Bangkok, joining The Atrium Marriott Executive Apartment in Hong Kong and the Lakeside Chalet Marriott Executive Apartment in Mumbai in the region.

Courtyard is Marriott’s moderately priced hotel brand that is aimed at business and leisure travelers who need consistent, high quality accommodations and services at moderate, affordable prices. This year, the 218-room Pudong Shanghai Courtyard will join nine other Courtyard properties in China and three in Australia in the region.

Other Marriott International hotels which will open in the region this year are the 281-room Renaissance Mumbai Hotel and the 270-room Saigon Marriott Hotel.

By yearend 2002, Marriott International hotel will also open in the following cities:

· 343-room Dalian Marriott Hotel in China

· 162-unit Bangkok Marriott Executive Apartments in Thailand

· 83-unit Dalian Marriott Executive Apartments in China

· 280-room Renaissance Tianjin Hotel in China

Regional Airline Alliances Formed; Marriott Rewards Grows

Mr. Fuller noted that Marriott has formed a number of regional airline alliances in recent years to support its marketing efforts in the region. These include alliances with Cathay, Singapore, ANA and Qantas.

Concurrently, regional membership in Marriott’s highly acclaimed Marriott Rewards frequent guest program continues to make strides as the company’s lodging portfolio expands. “We’re approaching a global membership of 15 million members and many of these new members live here in Asia-Pacific.”

The Marriott International portfolio in Asia-Pacific currently encompasses the following lodging brands: Marriott, Renaissance, Marriott Executive Apartments, Courtyard, Ramada International and New World.