Bahrain’s ITICO, the privately-held investment firm, plans to duplicate its partnership with US hotel chain Marriott International across the Gulf, its chairman said Monday.
The investment firm owns two of Marriott’s properties in Bahrain; the Residence Inn by Marriott Juffair and the Marriott Executive Apartments, and is eying additional partnerships in the future.
“Our partnership has been [ongoing for] a while. We started with Marriott Executive Apartments and the Residence, and hopefully we’ll continue in more areas,” Hisham Bin Abdulraham Alkhalifa, told Arabian Business. “Maybe in other locations: why not?”
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Marriott last week signed a management deal with ITICO to launch its Resident Inn brand in Bahrain. The property represents a $200m investment for the company.
The US hotel chain said in March it planned to open the world’s tallest hotel tower building in Dubai in 2010, as part of its plan to operate 74 hotels across the Middle East and North Africa by 2015.
The company currently operates 31 hotels across the MENA region, with a further 37 under development. A further six properties were announced in March, bringing the chain’s pipeline to 74 hotels by 2015.
Ed Fuller, president and managing director of Marriott Lodging International, said an additional 26 properties were possible, depending on how fast the hotels could be brought online and deals agreed with prospective owners.
The company, which includes the Marriott, Courtyard and Residence Inn brands in its portfolio, reported earnings of $101m for 2010 in April. It is the world’s third largest hotel operator by rooms under management.
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