Marriott International Reveals Global Growth Plan through 2009

Marriott International, in its first such meeting outside the United States, told institutional investors and security analysts in Paris that it expects to increase the number of its hotel rooms outside North America by more than 30 percent by the end of 2009.

The company also said it anticipates diluted earnings per share (EPS) to approximate $2.45 to $3.20 by the end of 2009, excluding earnings from synthetic fuel, assuming REVPAR increases of 9 to 10 percent in 2006 and compounded average annual growth rates of 4 to 8 percent from 2007 through 2009.

In a meeting focused on hotel development opportunities around the world, the company discussed unit growth expectations. In North America, Marriott plans to add 58,000 to 69,000 rooms through 2009, driven by conversions and ground-up select service hotel construction.

In Marriott’s Europe, Middle East and Africa region, the company intends to expand total hotel rooms by 12,000 to 14,000 rooms, ranging between 60,000 to 62,000 by the end of 2009.

Marriott’s hotel room growth in Asia is forecast to range between 11,000 and 12,000 rooms, with Ritz-Carlton accounting for almost a quarter of that increase. In the Caribbean and Latin America, Marriott plans to add 4,000 to 5,000 rooms by year-end 2009.