Marriott International eyes 70 hotels in India by 2018

Marriott International plans to expand its footprint in India by opening 49 more hotels in the country, reports PTI.

The expansion will take the total operational properties to around 70 by 2018, a senior company executive told PTI.

"We are in India since last 15 years and currently have 25 operating hotels under our various brands. We have another 49 properties in pipeline that are under various stages of construction. Every year, we sign new contracts and are expecting 60-70 operating hotels in India by 2017-2018," said Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President, Marriott International, South Asia.

Marriott International which primarily follows the management contract model has seven operating brands in India representing luxury to upper mid scale category.

In India, Marriott International currently operates brands like JW Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, Marriott Hotels, Fairfield by Marriott, Marriott Executive Apartments, Renaissance Hotels and The Ritz Carlton.

The group is also planning to hire 10,000 more for all levels by 2018. "We see opportunity for our two brands - Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield to grow aggressively in the country. They have locational advantage as they can be opened anywhere like tier II and III cities," Menon added.

The US-headquartered Marriott International has more than 4,000 properties (managed and franchised properties) over 20 brands around the world.