Marriott expands in UAE and Africa

MARRIOTT International
has strengthened its
position in the Middle
East and Africa by signing
14 new properties under
its brand.
This month it
announced that it had
signed six properties in
the UAE and Saudi Arabia
and a further eight in
Africa under the Protea
Hotels brand, which has
recently been taken over
by Marriott.
Marriott will open a new
312-room Renaissance
Dubai Downtown Hotel in
2015, as well as opening
the Dubai Marriott Hotel
Citywalk and Marriott
Executive Apartments
Dubai City Walk in 2016.
Marriott currently
operates 12 properties,
spanning five brands in
the Middle East.
In Saudi Arabia there
are plans to open three
hotels within the next
two years – the Courtyard
Hotel by Marriott Al
Khobar; Residence Inn
by Marriott Al Khobar;
and the Residence Inn by
Marriott Jazan, which is
set to open by the fourth
quarter of this year.
In Africa, Protea Hotels,
under Marriott, has
signed eight new hotels
– five will open within
the first quarter of 2015
and include properties
in South Africa, Nigeria,
Ghana and Rwanda.
Currently, Marriott has
161 properties across
18 countries with a total
of 23 701 rooms across
eight brands