Luxury Hotel Chain Marriott International has welcomed a milestone 7,000th hotel with the launch of the 129-bedroom St Regis Hong Kong.
The 27-story luxury hotel is in line with Marriott’s international expansion strategy, focusing on the highest lodging tiers as well as fast-growing global markets like Hong Kong. This hotel features multiple cuisines, butler service and multiple restaurants.
The Twin Bridges Marriott, the brand’s first property, was opened in the year 1957. It was a four-story motor hotel in Arlington, Virginia.
Arne Sorenson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Marriott International, said, “It’s thrilling to open our 7,000th property, an incredible milestone for a company that began as a nine-stool root beer stand in 1927 and didn’t even open its first hotel until decades later. I can’t think of a more fitting property to hold the honor than The St. Regis Hong Kong which underscores the benefits of our merger with Starwood, the importance of luxury and the tremendous opportunity in Asia.”
Marriott has done couple of acquisitions mainly Starwood Hotels & Resorts for $13.6b (£11.9b) in September 2016, which at the time created a combined portfolio of 5,700 hotels and 30 brands, including. Ritz-Carlton, Edition, W Hotels, Sheraton and Moxy.
Tony Capuano, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Development Officer, Marriott, stated, “Our newest luxury hotel, The St. Regis Hong Kong, is a testament to our well-defined global growth strategy. By leveraging our industry-leading luxury brands, including those we gained from the Starwood merger, our robust relationships with multi-unit owners and our expertise in identifying strategic opportunities in global gateway markets such as Hong Kong, we are well positioned to expand our global footprint by 25 percent in the next three years.”
News of the opening of the 27-storey property follows on from the announcement last month that Marriott expects to add more than 1,700 additional hotels globally by the end of 2021, providing up to 150,000 jobs.
Dr. David Rodriguez, Chief Global Human Resources Officer, Marriott International, added, “As we look at adding an expected 1,700 properties to our system, hiring and retaining talented people has never been more important to our continued success. As our footprint grows more global, workers in our hotels, from bartenders to housekeepers, will have ever-growing choices and opportunities as they grow their careers with Marriott International and its franchisees.”