To meet rising demand from both tourists and business travelers, Marriott International Inc. plans a major expansion across Europe over the next five years. The company aims to sign or open 150,000 rooms across its brand portfolio by 2020, up from about 40,000 rooms in 2010.
“Since 2010, we have focused on developing strong brands across all tiers to meet different customer needs and we are seeing incredible momentum with over 34,000 new rooms opened or signed by the end of 2014,” said Amy McPherson, president and managing director, Marriott International, Europe. “This includes the introduction of four new luxury and lifestyle brands to Europe — Autograph Collection, AC Hotels by Marriott, EDITION and Moxy Hotels.”
Looking ahead to 2020, Moxy Hotels is projected to lead the expansion, with an anticipated 25,000 signed rooms. Eastern and Western Europe are expected to account for more than half of the development pipeline over the next two years. By the end of 2016, Marriott expects to open more than 1,000 rooms in Russia, while JW Marriott Bodrum in Turkey will open in spring, becoming the seventh JW Marriott property in Europe.
In Western Europe nearly 3,000 rooms are planned to open within the next two years, with notable growth from the Autograph Collection. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Moxy Hotels is set to add over 1,000 rooms in 2016, including three hotels in London and one in Aberdeen. Central Europe is also a key focus, projected to capture about 25 percent of pipeline growth, with roughly 1,200 Moxy rooms expected to open by the end of 2016.
Marriott’s strategy emphasizes a broad brand mix to serve varying guest preferences, from full-service luxury to design-led lifestyle and select-service concepts. This diversified approach supports rapid scale-up in markets across the continent and positions the company to capture both leisure demand and corporate travel as Europe’s tourism and business sectors continue to recover and expand.