Marriott is to more than triple its hotel brands portfolio in India by year end 2010 as the company’s presence in the country grows to encompass 21 properties, six lodging brands ranging from luxury to upper-moderate categories, and an additional 3,324 roomsIncluded in the expansion are:

? three JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts properties and one Ritz-Carlton hotel in the luxury tier;

? one Marriott Hotels & Resorts hotel and one Renaissance Hotels & Resorts property in the upscale, deluxe category;

? one Marriott Executive Apartments property for extended-stay travelers; and

? eight Courtyard by Marriott hotels in the upper-moderate segment.

Marriott International will operate these hotels under long-term management contracts. Currently, the company’s portfolio in India consists of six properties, five brands and 1,534 rooms.

Recently announced are six hotels, all of which are expected to open in 2009. They join nine previously announced properties that are soon to start, or are currently under construction in Bangalore, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Noida and Pune. In addition, the existing 286-room Renaissance Mumbai Hotel is undergoing a 302-room expansion that is scheduled for completion in 2008.

The newly announced hotels are:

? the 371-room JW Marriott Hotel Chennai, which will be located on Santhome Road in the developing commercial area to the southeast of Chennai’s central business district;

? the 328-room Renaissance Bangalore Hotel which will be situated on Bannerghatta Road to the south of the Bangalore city center in the 14.5-acre IBC Knowledge Park, a large mixed-use development that also includes an office complex;

? the 129-unit Marriott Executive Apartments Gurgaon which will be located in the Greenwood City area of Gurgaon and will be the only branded serviced-apartment facility in the area;

? the 170-room Courtyard by Marriott Ahmedabad which will be located at the Ramdev Nagar junction on Satellite Road, approximately six kilometers west of the city center;

? the 299-room Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International Airport which will be situated on Andheri Kurla Road, approximately four kilometers from Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and eight kilometers from Santa Cruz Domestic Airport; and

? the 210-room Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre which will be situated on Sasson Road, adjacent to Jehangir Hospital, approximately one-half kilometer from the Pune railway and bus stations and 10 kilometers from the Pune Lahegaon Airport.

“We are delighted by the depth and scope our hotel portfolio is taking in India,” said Ed Fuller, president and managing director of international lodging for Marriott International. “Our goal is to appeal to a wide range of travelers, both those visiting from abroad as well as local travelers within India. We are confident that the portfolio that we, along with our local investors and partners, are building will be appreciated for their sophisticated amenities as well as for providing good value - whether at the luxury, upscale or upper-moderate segments of the travel continuum.”

Marriott recently opened a development office New Delhi.
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