Lodging company Marriott International Inc has added a new brand—Edition — to its existing portfolio which includes JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton.
Marriott International Global Full Service Brands executive vice-president Donald J. Semmler said: “The Edition brand launches with the first opening which is in Waikiki in September, followed by one in Istanbul."
The company began developing the concept of Edition with Ian Schrager, credited as the man who revived the boutique hotel concept, in 2007.
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On the Edition website it says the brand will "combine the personal, intimate, individualized and unique lodging experience that Ian Schrager is known for, with the global reach, operational expertise and scale of Marriott".
It is thought that Edition hotels will be rolled out in Istanbul, Mexico City, Barcelona and Bangkok in the near future.
As well as the arrival of the Editon brand, the company has also announced plans to expand The Autograph Collection, which currently comprises eight hotels and is expected to have signed management agreements for 25 by the end of the year.
A different concept to the existing brands owned by the company, The Autograph Collection comprises independent properties which will retain their own brand name and personality and will be operated by Marriott International.
“We have always invested in sales, revenue management, e-commerce, the loyalty programmes that we have, and we realised that globally that platform that we have to generate sales is the largest in the world, the only one that comes close is Hilton and they are smaller,” Semmler said. “On a global basis, if you want system power – Marriott is the largest. We are a growth company so we are always looking for ways to grow.”
“We’ll be moving [The Autograph Collection] globally over 2011 so we are excited to have some play in Europe because the European hoteliers never sell — they want to run it their way and here is an opportunity for them to do that and make more money,” added Semmler.
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