Marriott International is planning to introduce their brand- ‘Edition’ in India. The first hotel under this brand will be launched in Gurgaon. With this brand, Marriott will have eight operational brands under its tag in India. Presently, Marriott has seven functional brands in India namely; Courtyard by Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Fairfield by Marriott, JW Marriott, Marriott, Renaissance Hotels, Marriott Executive Apartments.
Speaking exclusively to Financial Express Online, about the new brand, Rajeev Menon, area vice president, South Asia, Marriott International, said, ?Last year we brought Fairfield by Marriott into India, we did a Asia-Pacific launch, we also opened Ritz Carlton. In a couple of years we are also bringing our brand ‘Edition’ in India, with the first property which is being built in Gurgaon. I feel that with eight very strong brands in India we have a fairly robust portfolio to grow in this nation.?
Marriott International is also venturing into North East India with hotels coming up in three cities in the next couple of years. Marriott will launch a Courtyard by Marriott in Shillong, Courtyard by Marriott and JW Marriott in Siliguri and three properties in Guwahati.
Menon said, ?We are aggressively looking into the North East region and we will launch hotels in Shillong, Siliguri and Guwahati. We have three properties coming up in Guwahati. All the properties in North East will be developed within the next two years.?
Speaking about the challenges which Marriott faces in the Indian market, Menon said, ?Every market is unique, over the last couple of years the Indian economy has been a little bit shaky. We know that the financial situations in India has changed with the interest rates being very high compared to other parts of the world and the cost of land is high from a hotel business point of view. In our view India remains a decade long growth story.?
