Marriott to grow extended-stay brand in MEA region
Marriott International will grow its mid-scale extended-stay brand throughout the Middle East and Africa, starting with the opening of the region's first Residence Inn by Marriott Juffair, Bahrain due to soft launch on December 27, with an official opening expected in January, 2012.
The region's second Residence Inn is scheduled to open in the Saudi Arabian province of Jizan on the Red Sea coast mid-next year, vice president & global brand manager for Residence Inn Diane Mayer told Hotelier Middle East at a press briefing on Monday.
This will be followed by a Residence Inn property in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, opening in 2014, with plans underway for "several" properties in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to be announced in the "near future", as well as in Kuwait.
"We're aiming for 20-30 Residence Inns in the region [Middle East and Africa] within the next 10 years," revealed Ed Fuller, president and managing director, Marriott International.
Globally there are currently more than 600 all-suite Residence Inns - mostly in the US, but with several properties in Canada and Costa Rica. The brand entered Europe earlier this month with the opening of a Residence Inn in Munich, Germany.
Speaking to Hotelier on the sidelines of the briefing, Mayer said that up to a third of Marriott's business from room nights in the US came from extended stays of five nights or more and the expansion of this brand was based on opportunities in this sector identified worldwide.
She added that the Residence Inn brand was Marriott International's preferred brand for global development due to the business model's high margins.
"The margins from our extended-stay brands are the highest due to a number of factors such as labour efficiency, for example less staff are needed due to fewer check-ins and outs and it takes less time to refresh a room for an existing guest than a new guest."
Mayer said the brand would be targeted at two guest profiles, the primary market being the business traveller and a secondary market of leisure guests travelling with families.
Residence Inns in the Middle East will feature larger rooms of 45-100 sq m compared to those in Europe (averaging around 28 sq m) and the US (averaging around 42 sq m).
The 78-unit Residence Inn by Marriott Juffair, Bahrain, under a long-term management agreement with International Trading and Investment Co., will be located adjacent to the existing Marriott Executive Apartments (Marriott's higher-tier extended-stay brand) in a suburban neighbourhood of Manama.
It will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom suites designed for stays of five days or more. Each suite will have fully-equipped kitchen and a separate living area, flat-screen TV and wi-fi all typical of Residence Inn suites. Rates will vary depending on length of stay, with lower rates for longer stays. Average US room rates vary between US $120 and $160.
Fuller said that the impact of the Arab Spring earlier this year on the neighbouring Marriott Executive Apartments Bahrain had been minimal, adding that extended-stay brands tended to be more “resilient”.