Marriott International’s Middle East and Africa investment and expansion plans are reaping strong rewards as the hotelier reports positive second quarter results.

RevPAR excluding Egypt improved seven per cent year-on-year and was driven by occupancy growth of four per cent.

Overall, quarter two RevPAR improved by 3.9 per cent for MEA including Egypt.

The results include the recently acquired Protea Hospitality Holding for the first time since the hotelier’s acquisition at the start of the year.

The total number of hotels now stands at 155 with 23,000 rooms across eight brands; The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, JW Marriott Hotels, Marriott Hotels, Renaissance Hotels, Protea Hotels, Marriott Executive Apartments, Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn by Marriott.

Commenting on the company’s performance, Alex Kyriakidis, president, Marriott International, Middle East & Africa, said: “On the April 1st, we completed our acquisition of Protea, whereby we leap-frogged our competition to become the number one hospitality company in Africa and second largest operator across the Middle East and Africa.

“The positive results reaffirm the growing popularity of our brands across the region and the successful integration of Protea into the Marriott family.”

During the first quarter of the year Marriott International launched the Al Jaddaf Marriott Hotel Dubai and Marriott Executive Apartments Al Jaddaf Dubai helping to strengthen its hold on the UAE market.

The JW Marriott Marquis Dubai has also continued to perform exceptionally well witnessing strong demand since the start of 2014; demand has subsequently exceeded supply enabling the hotel to bring its total operational room count to 1,500 in June – ahead of schedule.

In the second quarter two Protea Hotels were also opened including Protea Hotel Lusaka Tower, Lusaka, Zambia (April) and the one just last week in Lagos Nigeria, the Protea Hotel Select Ikeja, Lagos –August 2014.

The iconic Riyadh Marriott Hotel, the first ever Marriott in the Middle East was also re-launched in March.

Marriott International’s signature business and leisure brand, Marriott Hotels, also continues to grow in popularity.

The brand announced the opening of a new property in Doha’s West Bay district, where three hotels currently known as the Renaissance Hotel, Courtyard by Marriott and Marriott Executive Apartments Doha City Centre become one.

The Marriott Marquis City Centre Doha Hotel is in line with Marriott Hotels’ new brand strategy and “Marquis” is a brand extension of the Marriott Hotels and JW Marriott Hotels brands.

It is given to select properties that are distinguished by their exceptional offerings and iconic locations, including expansive meeting facilities, multiple restaurants, and grand public spaces.

The Marriott Marquis City Centre Doha Hotel with its 580 guest rooms, 1,200 square metres of flexible meeting space, and breath-taking views of the Doha skyline and Arabian Gulf is no exception.

Kyriakidis added: “While the Protea deal kept us busy during the first three months of the year, the second quarter was also marked by new hotel openings and a plethora of new deals.

“These signings further boost our growing pipeline and instil a strong belief in our vision to become the number one hotelier in MEA by 2020.”
Looking ahead Marriott International has several openings in the pipeline.

These include the Residence Inn by Marriott Kuwait City in September and Residence Inn by Marriott Jazan, KSA in October. With the introduction of these properties the firms total operational Residence Inn branded hotels will rise to three across MEA boosting its offering to the mid to long-term business traveller market which is seeing a boom.