Marriott International introduced its new luxury group at the International Luxury Travel Market in Cannes, France Monday.
The Marriott International Luxury Brands group will include eight brands altogether, including three recently acquired Starwood brands.
The complete list comprises St. Regis, The Luxury Collection and W Hotels brands as well as The Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, EDITION and JW Marriott. The Bethesda, Maryland-based hotel giant also revealed that it's currently on pace to open 28 new luxury hotels next year, including nine properties under the Luxury Collection brand.
Overall, Marriott said that it has as many as 180 luxury hotels in its development pipeline.
[READMORE] READ MORE: Marriott Exec Unveils Changes Coming Following Starwood Merger [/READMORE]
"With luxury travel up nearly 50 percent over the past five years, we see a long runway for growth at the high-end and have a world-class, dedicated luxury structure in place to nurture and strengthen this coveted portfolio of eight diverse luxury brands," said Marriott's global brand officer Tina Edmundson in a statement accompanying Monday's announcement.
In a recent exclusive interview with Bloomberg, Edmundson said she hopes the new group will be "known as the undisputed leader in luxury, with the best global hotel portfolio, with coveted brands that really offer very personal, very individualized, very bespoke experiences."
She also noted that while today's luxury guests want it all, they have expectations when it comes to certain brands. For example, the company sees Ritz-Carlton as a brand that facilitates exploration of a given destination, while it hopes to position the St. Regis brand as a destination in and of itself.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
