JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen Bao’an
MARRIOTT International completed its US$13 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts last Friday, making it the largest hotel company in the world with 5,700 properties and 1.1 million rooms in more than 110 countries.
The new combined entity now have 30 brands under its umbrella, although only 20 of which currently have presence in Asia.
Regarding bringing the other brands to Asia, Marriott’s CFO for APAC, Ken Rehmann, toldTTG Asia e-Daily: “There are ten brands between the two companies that can be added in Asia and that’s a good opportunity for us. However, we have to look at whether they are appropriate. Even though it may be a good American brand in the US, it may not work well elsewhere. That’s why we don’t have every brand here today.
“Brands like Fairfield by Marriott in Australia are very new to the region and there are only a few properties in Asia. We just signed the deal with Eastern Crown in China so that is huge growth opportunity.”
Still, there are massive growth plans in the pipeline for the already enormous conglomerate, added Marriott’s APAC president and managing director Craig Smith. “We will be able to double the number in the next five years. Having this comprehensive footprint means having the right brand in the right place. It also represents synergies for better sale.”
Expounding on the expansion plans, Rehmann said: “What I have seen is that we can achieve a lot of growth in leisure destinations around Asia. What would be great about the merging of these two brands is being able to cover more destinations.
“We see the focus on leisure destinations. For instance, we have started projects in Vietnam, the Maldives and Philippines. However, the first step is to understand what we have in the pipeline.”
Asking how the consolidation impacts MICE and corporate bookings, Marriott’s chief sales and marketing officer for APAC, Peggy Fang Roe, said: “Everything will stay the same in terms of corporate booking and MICE planners. Over time obviously we will bring contracts and other aspects together, but for now, things will operate no differently. With the merger, we will certainly have more choice and opportunity for more places to stage meetings and events.”
The travel trade in Hong Kong welcomed the move. Westminster Travel CEO Larry Lo said: “The merger means more convenience for us as we now deal with only one company. With a greater volume of traffic, this enhances agents’ negotiation power with more choices. I hope they can refresh the marketing products for agents given this new portfolio.”
Jetour Holdings chairman Ronnie Ho said: “This becomes one big deluxe brand with stronger positioning. It really broadens our offering and image when selling to our clients. Location-wise, it’s better coverage as both Starwood and Marriott complement each other.
“My only concern is whether they will merge the team after consolidation. Then the group will have to brief the trade about the differences amongst those 30 brands.”
Meanwhile, China Travel Services International Science-Technology & Culture Exchange director Ng Hi-on noted that the two hotel groups have different clientele. “It’s not a big surprise to me and I don’t see that there will be any difference after the merger. My key concern is whether the sales teams will be combined or not.”
