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| Signing ceremony for Marriott International and Eastern Crown Hotels Group |
BETHESDA, MD—Marriott International, Inc., has signed franchise contracts for five new Fairfield by Marriott hotels together with management contracts for a Courtyard and a Marriott Hotel in China.
The five franchised Fairfield by Marriott Hotels will be managed by Eastern Crown Hotels Group as part of the development agreement it reached with Marriott International this year. The new properties are the Fairfield by Marriott, Chongqing Riverside, with 119 rooms; Fairfield by Marriott, Dongguan Changping, with 196 rooms; Fairfield by Marriott, Meizhou South, with 100 rooms; Fairfield by Marriott, Foshan Nanhai, with 248 rooms; and Fairfield by Marriott Nanning Nanhu Park, with 190 rooms.
The new Courtyard by Marriott hotel will be located in Chengdu’s Tianfu New District and will offer 315 rooms. Also signed today is the company’s signature brand Marriott Hotel in Jinhua, which is Marriott’s first property in the city. The hotel will have 279 rooms and full-service amenities, including two restaurants, a lobby lounge and meeting space.
In total, these seven new agreements will add more than 1,400 new rooms owned by Marriott’s Chinese partners.
“China is a highly important market. Our signing of these agreements reflects our goal to meet the needs of both international and domestic visitors by introducing hotels carrying Marriott’s brands in close partnership with Chinese hotel management and ownership companies,” said Arne Sorenson, president & CEO of Marriott International, on his visit to Shanghai for the signing with Chinese partners. “China is our largest market outside the U.S., and we are very confident in its continued growth, especially in view of the rising disposable incomes of the middle class and development of the consumer-led economy.”
“These agreements represent an important component of Marriott International’s model for growth around the world—to work with local partners who have the right local expertise, knowledge and skills, and who share our own values and culture. This is particularly true in China, where the majority of our hotels are owned by Chinese partners. I am delighted that we are working with our trusted partner Eastern Crown to rapidly expand our Fairfield by Marriott brand in China. Chairman Cheng and his team at Eastern Crown hold high standards of quality in their hotel products and management,” added Sorenson.
Eastern Crown Hotels Group is a privately held, Guangzhou-based lodging company that specializes in franchising and operating select-service hotels. It currently has a portfolio of more than 900 hotels either open or under development in more than 200 cities in China, Malaysia and Belarus.
Cheng Xinhua, founder, president and CEO of Eastern Crown Hotels Group, said, “Combining our knowledge of the Chinese consumer and Marriott’s quality and expertise in the marketplace, I am confident that Fairfield by Marriott is poised to develop at an exceptional pace. We see today’s signings as the official launch of a fruitful collaboration between the two organizations, all with the aim of building the best experiences for Chinese consumers in mind.”
