Hotelchains and real estate firms headquartered in the D.C. area are finding themselves looking outside the United States for growth opportunities.
D.C.-based Marriott International announced this week it will build 16 hotels offering 3,515 rooms in the Middle East by 2009.
Marriott has its sights set on the Middle East because tourism there is supposed to increase significantly, spokesman John Wolfe said. This year alone, the World Travel & Tourism Council is predicting nearly 6 percent growth in tourism to the Middle East. Around 10 percent of the region’s investment will go toward attracting and serving these visitors.
Marriott largely captures regional business travelers overseas, rather than U.S. travelers heading out of the country, Wolfe noted.
China and India are also hot markets internationally, Wolfe said.
The company has 12 hotels under construction in China, its flagship being a J.W. Marriott in Beijing which will open for the 2008 Olympics.
In India, nine Marriott hotels are scheduled to open in the next three years. Marriott also seeks to double the number of hotels bearing its Courtyard brand in Europe, Wolfe said.
Bethesda-based lodging and real estate company Host Hotels & Resorts, one of four Maryland Fortune 500 companies in the D.C. area, also wants to expand in Europe and Asia.
Host Hotels is part of a joint venture dedicated to expanding in Europe, where it now has seven hotels, spokesman Kevin Jacobs said. The company has invested about 1 billion euros in European hotel real estate and plans to invest an additional 500 million.
The company is also doing market research in Asia to determine whether expanding there will prove profitable, Jacobs said.
China is where D.C.-based hotel real estate company PM Hospitality Strategies is looking to grow, Chief Executive Officer Greg Miller said.
The country will be the location of the firm’s first venture outside of America.
“As a developer in the [United States] where construction costs have risen so dramatically, we’re looking for the best opportunities for our investors for the long term,” Miller said.
The company is negotiating several deals in China and has opened up an office there to pursue other opportunities. PM is speaking with Starwood and Hilton for possible franchise opportunities as well, he said.
