W The Palm Dubai opened in 2019.
W The Palm Dubai opened in 2019.

Marriott International furthered its own pipeline rooms record in 2019, closing the year with more than 800 signings and a new network hotel being opened to guests every 17 hours on average somewhere in the world.

The company’s global pipeline closed the year at 515,000 rooms ready to be developed, citing strong organic growth in each of its international markets outside its US homeland. Marriott International now markets more than 7,300 properties, accounting for 1.38 million rooms around the world, more than half of which is located outside North America.

More than half of properties signed in 2019 were outside the US, with 38,000 rooms committing to Marriott brands in the Asia Pacific region alone – the best performing of all international markets by more than double. The year also saw the company debut in four new countries – Cyprus, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and Latvia.

New St Regis branded hotels opened in Venice (pictured) and Pune last year.

Luxury brands were the best performing for the company, with 42 new deals signed across 17 countries. The resurgence of the W Hotels brand has already seen the brand reopen in Brisbane, with W Sydney and Melbourne both due to launch in 2020. Other successful brands for Marriott included AC by Marriott, Aloft and Moxy, which together accounted for nearly 10,000 new rooms opened in 2019.

Marriott International Group President, Global Development, Design and Operations Services, Tony Capuano, revealed the news at ALIS 2020 in Los Angeles and said the company’s results in 2019 came through ensuring growth and loyalty remained cornerstones of how it does business.

“We continue to drive value for our owners with quality branding options for both property conversions and newbuilds, backed by our leading business support systems and loyalty platform.

“By staying true to our growth philosophy and continuously responding to the evolving preferences and lifestyles of travellers, we are poised for a successful 2020 and beyond.”