Marriott International to open 52 hotels in India in 5 years

The hospitality ground current has 28 properties in India

Marriott International Inc, which has opened its second JW Marriott hotel in the city, aims to add 52 more properties in India over 5 years to tap into the growing demand for quality hotels.

It has 28 properties in India.

"As the economy grows there will be growth in the hospitality sector as well. We are planning to add another 52 properties with 10,000 rooms in the country, which we hope will be operational in the next 3-5 years. This expansion will be more in Fairfield and Courtyard by Marriott brands," Marriott International President and CEO Arne M Sorenson said.

Last year, the industry revenue per available room (RevPAR) was 0.8%, while the Marriott's RevPAR stood at 8%. He said.

"Looking at last year performance, we clearly outgrew the market. All our brands continue to out perform the market. In 2015, we expect to be a good year," he added.

Currently, the US-based hospitality major has 7,000 rooms under its 7 brands in India.

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.

Globally, Marriott International has 20 brands.

"Today, 57% of our guests in India are Indians compared to 35% five-to-six years ago. We get 1% of our revenue from India and we would like to the country to be among our top 5 markets going forward," he added.

Sorenson said the company expects the luxury segment to do well in another 2-3 years in the country, however, at present the upper mid scale segment will see more development in the country.

"Going forward, we would like to introduce our luxury brand Bvlgari in India. We only have half-a-dozen Bvlgari properties around the world and one is coming up in the Maldives. There are 4-5 Indian cities that can support this brand. But it will not be anytime soon. We will also like to introduce our lifestyle brands like Edition and Autograph Collections in the country, maybe in 3-5 years," he said.

In India, Marriott has expanded beyond the tier I and II cities to secondary markets like Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Bilaspur (Chhittishgarh) among others, Marriott Chief Operations Officer, Southeast, Asia and Pacific, Rajeev Menon said.

"We are looking to enter the North East next year along with many other secondary markets," he added.