4
Edwin D. Fuller
President and managing director of international lodging, Marriott International
The highest new entrant in this year’s Power 50 is Marriott International’s Ed Fuller, coming straight in at number four.
Although he holds a global role, Fuller has always shown a strong personal commitment to the Middle East and Africa, with an affinity for places such as Libya, Morocco and Oman.
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On August 15, Marriott International president and chief operating officer Arne Sorenson announced that, as part of the company’s strategy to establish a continental division in the Middle East and Africa, Fuller would lead operations and growth in the region in his continued position as president and MD of lodging.
“Ed is highly respected throughout the industry and brings considerable expertise and contacts to our global operations,” said Sorenson. “As a 38-year Marriott veteran, he was a principle leader in growing the Marriott portfolio from 16 international hotels to more than 400 in 68 countries outside North America and expanding our brands into new markets.”
Fuller’s appointment follows the opening of Marriott’s regional headquarters in Dubai on January 1, 2010.
“We are positioning ourselves to take full advantage of the unprecedented growth in tourism that the region is predicted to attract over the next decade,” Fuller said at the time, estimating that some 68 million arrivals would be expected in the Middle East by 2020.
According to Dubai-based consulting firm Viability, Marriott currently tops the GCC hotel development pipeline in terms of both hotels and rooms, with 29 properties and 9572 rooms planned.
Overall, across the total MEA region, Marriott plans to open 43 hotels over the next three years in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Ghana, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and UAE, adding to its portfolio of 28 hotels, including five Ritz-Carltons.
Achievements over the past 12 months include the opening of Marriott’s first hotel in Oman, the Salalah Marriott Beach Resort at the end of 2009, the signing of the first JW Marriott branded property in Aqaba in March, adding to its three existing hotels in Jordan, and an agreement for a 370-room JW Marriott hotel to open in Tripoli in 2011.
“We are very excited to be operating one of the first internationally-branded hotels in Tripoli,” commented Fuller.
More recently, he announced agreements for hotels in Algeria and Rwanda, and said upcoming properties in Qatar and Dubai were progressing well.
Fuller said: “We plan to open three hotels later this year in Qatar. As we move forward into next year, we expect to experience gathering strength when we open a stunning Renaissance hotel in Tlemcen and a beautiful, luxurious JW Marriott hotel in Tripoli. Both will be our first properties in their respective countries. We’re also delighted that construction on the landmark JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai is coming along right on schedule with its first 807 rooms due to open in 2012”.
In total, the Marquis hotel, owned by Emirates Group, will have 1614 rooms, while other major projects underway include the 318-room Renaissance Bahrain Amwaj Island Hotel opening in 2010 and nine hotels in Saudi Arabia, including JW Marriott Hotel Riyadh.
Although Fuller is a new entrant, Marriott was represented last year in the Power 50 by area VP MEA Nihad Kattan, who has moved on to head up the group’s hotels in Jordan.
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