Marriott International and Hilton Worldwide announced aggressive expansion plans for their hotel portfolios over the next several years, both in the U.S. and abroad. A significant number of the upcoming properties are upscale, meetings-oriented hotels near downtown convention centers.
Hilton Worldwide, which is opening or has opened 70 hotels this year and next, is almost doubling the number of properties in its Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand over the next three years, with 14 hotels in the pipeline, including one in New York City.
Airport hotels with resort-style amenities like swimming pools, spas and fine dining restaurants are also a focus, including the recent opening of the Hilton Rosemont/Chicago O’Hare and Hilton Beijing Capital Airport in China.
At a recent conference in New York, Marriott announced that it expects to add as many as 90,000 hotel rooms to its portfolio between 2011 and 2013.
"We are on the threshold of extraordinary growth for our company," said Marriott International Chairman and CEO J.W. Marriott Jr.
In particular, the luxury JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts brand is set for expansion, with 18 additional hotels expected to open within the next five years. JW Marriott hotels have opened in Miami and Chicago within the past month.
Marriott also plans to expand its new brands, including EDITION and the Autograph Collection.
