Marriott International Redefines the High-End Hospitality Landscape, Doubling Its Luxury Footprint across Eight Distinct Brands

From International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) Cannes, Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) today announced that the company continues to grow its leadership position in luxury, doubling its portfolio of luxury hotels through the recent merger with Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Providing global travelers an unrivaled selection of diversified, high-end experiences in 61 countries, the Marriott International Luxury Brands group now includes the iconic St. Regis, The Luxury Collection and W Hotels brands, in addition to the company’s world-renowned hospitality hallmarks The Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, EDITION and JW Marriott. Looking ahead, Marriott International is scheduled to open nearly 30 luxury hotels in 2017 and has a total of 180 luxury hotels in its development pipeline, representing 20 new countries, from Iceland and Nepal to Cuba.

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“Spanning the world from the most iconic hot spots to the ultimate undiscovered gems, the unmatched breadth and depth of our luxury portfolio uniquely positions us to cater to the increased demand of the rapidly-expanding cadre of affluent travelers,” said Tina Edmundson, Global Brand Officer, Marriott International. “With luxury travel up nearly 50% over the past five years, we see a long runway for growth at the high-end and have a world-class, dedicated luxury structure in place to nurture and strengthen this coveted portfolio of eight diverse luxury brands.”

Brands Created for the Global Luxurian
Multi-national and cross-generational, mobile and jet-setting, Marriott International’s luxury traveler is comfortable moving across the company’s luxury brands portfolio for business and leisure. Edmundson continued: “Our guests’ approach to luxury is decidedly less formal, entirely more personal, and defined more by their interests and mind-set than their geography and demographic.” This global luxury tribe selects a hotel experience based on their trip purpose, heading to W South Beach for Art Basel Miami, The Ritz-Carlton, Abu Dhabi for Formula 1, The London EDITION for Fashion Week and The St. Regis New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

Traveling well beyond tried and true locations, to destinations from the Philippines to Peru, and all points in between, luxury travelers look to Marriott International for authentic experiences deeply rooted in the destination. “They want to learn how to kitesurf at The St. Regis Mauritius, discover cherry blossom season at The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto, drink bellinis on the terrace at the iconic Gritti Palace during the Venice Biennale and go heli-skiing at W Verbier,” said Edmundson.

The Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis Further Define the Luxury Landscape in 2017
The Ritz-Carlton, the legendary hospitality brand with 92 hotels around the world, will continue to set the standard in luxury in 2017 with four scheduled debuts, including The Ritz-Carlton, Langkawi and The Ritz-Carlton, Astana, creating indelible marks for its guests as they discover the best of the locale. St. Regis, with 38 hotels today and 21 in the pipeline, continues to reinterpret the legacy of the original St. Regis hotel in New York for today’s luxury traveler. The brand unveiled the spectacular St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort in early November and is slated to make debuts in five destinations in 2017, including Shanghai, Changsha and Cairo.

Luxury Rebel W Hotels Opens 50 ^th Hotel
Known to turn the conventional hotel experience upside down wherever the iconic W sign lands, W Hotels continues to ride the wave with the recent opening of W Punta de Mita, the ultimate surfer escape. The brand sits alongside luxury, not confined by it, and celebrated the opening of W Las Vegas last week, which helped W Hotels hit the landmark 50th hotel milestone. W Goa is set to make its much-anticipated debut on December 12th and the brand has 33 hotels in the pipeline. 2017 will be a strong year for W Hotels with six anticipated openings, ranging from Tel Aviv and Panama City to Shanghai.

EDITION further expands their global influence in Asia and Europe in 2017
EDITION defines a new generation of luxury by balancing sophisticated design and personalized, attentive service with one-of-a-kind food, beverage and entertainment offerings reflecting the best of the cultural and social milieu of each location. Showcasing its luxury-lifestyle experience with hotels in London, New York and Miami Beach, EDITION most recently premiered The Sanya EDITION on Hainan Island in Southern China, the brand’s first hotel in Asia, and will debut additional properties in Bangkok and Barcelona by the end of 2017.

The Luxury Collection Surpasses 100 ^th Hotel Milestone with Robust 2017 Pipeline
An incredible ensemble of 102 hotels in more than 30 countries around the world, The Luxury Collection provides global explorers true, indigenous experiences, impossible to replicate anywhere else. From former palaces in Venice and Vienna to contemporary masterpieces such as the Frank Gehry-designed Marques de Riscal in Spain’s Rioja wine region, the brand continues to rapidly expand its footprint. 2017 will see the opening of Hotel Inglaterra in Havana, Cuba, which will join the brand after a complete renovation. The Luxury Collection is set to debut in nine destinations next year, including California’s Napa Valley, Singapore and Panama City.

After Marquee Openings in Venice and Los Cabos, JW Marriott Continues to Soar
JW Marriott, the brand inspired by its legendary namesake, is an expression of approachable, modern luxury. With 79 hotels and resorts today in 27 countries, including the recent openings of JW Marriott Venice and JW Marriott Los Cabos, the brand is looking forward to its much anticipated 2017 resort debut in Vietnam with the opening of JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa. Additionally, JW Marriott will open JW Marriott parq Vancouver by the end of next year.

About Marriott International, Inc.
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is the world's largest hotel company based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, with nearly 6,000 properties in 120 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts. The company's 30 leading brands include: Bulgari®, The Ritz-Carlton® and The Ritz-Carlton Reserve®, St. Regis®, W®, EDITION®, JW Marriott®, The Luxury Collection®, Marriott Hotels®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Renaissance® Hotels, Sheraton®, Delta Hotels by Marriott ^SM , Marriott Executive Apartments®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Tribute Portfolio™, Design Hotels™, Gaylord Hotels®, Courtyard®, Four Points® by Sheraton, SpringHill Suites®, Fairfield Inn & Suites®, Residence Inn®, TownePlace Suites®, AC Hotels by Marriott®, Aloft®, Element®, Moxy® Hotels, and Protea Hotels by Marriott®. The company also operates award-winning loyalty programs: Marriott Rewards®, which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest®. For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com and @MarriottIntl.

Note on Forward-Looking Statements: The number and locations of luxury brand hotels that Marriott International expects to open in 2017 are “forward-looking statements" within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws, not historical facts, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including supply and demand changes for hotel rooms; competitive conditions in the lodging industry; relationships with clients and property owners; the availability of capital to finance hotel growth; and other risk factors identified in Marriott International’s most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by those statements. We make those statements as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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Contact information

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Julien Guitard, Associate Director of Communications EAME
Tel: +32 2 207 5160 Mobile: +32 496 19 67 59
Email: Julien.guitard@starwoodhotels.com
or
Marriott Hotels International Limited
Olivia Donnan, Public Relations Manager, Europe
Tel: +44 (0) 207 012 7199 Mobile: +44 (0) 7881 312712
Email: Olivia.donnan@marriott.com