Marriott aims to gain ground in RI
HONG KONG (JP): Marriott International of the United States, a diversified hospitality company with operations and franchises in 21 countries, will manage a first-class hotel in Indonesia.
The hotel, currently under construction on Jl. Sudirman, the main thoroughfare in Jakarta, will be Marriott's flagship property in the country, in cooperation with PT Duta Anggada Realty, a subsidiary of the widely diversified Gunung Sewu Group.
Marriott's principal business covers lodging facilities, ranging from full-service hotels and resorts to management services, including food and facilities management, airport terminals and toll road restaurants.
Under an agreement reached between PT Duta Anggada Realty and Marriott International's subsidiary, Marriott Hotels, Resorts and Suites, PT Duta Anggada Realty is in charge of developing and constructing the 400-room hotel and Marriott will manage the facility.
"Marriott wants to have a significant presence in Indonesia," said Peachie Dieken, public relations manager of JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, which is located at Pacific Place in Hong Kong's downtown commercial center.
She said the construction of the JW Marriott Jakarta Hotel, which commenced in early 1995, was originally scheduled to be completed next year.
"However, I heard that the completion of the project will likely be delayed possibly for one year," she told The Jakarta Post, without providing further details.
The property is positioned to appeal to international business and leisure travelers in Indonesia's rapidly growing tourist industry.
The penetration into the Indonesian hotel industry constitutes a part of Marriott's global expansion.
Strategic plans call for Marriott, which currently has more than 900 hotels with over 189,000 rooms in its worldwide lodging system, to have more than 100 hotels outside the United States by the year 2000.
The vast majority are in the four- and five-star deluxe category in major gateway cities, commercial centers and established resort destinations.
This objective will be reached through management contracts, joint venture agreements or franchise arrangements. Once firmly established in a country, the company will pursue other opportunities in secondary cities.
Additional properties are currently under active negotiations in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.
Since 1989, when it opened four hotels outside the United States, including properties in Hong Kong, Warsaw, Frankfurt and Bremen, Marriott has added more than 30 hotels to its international lodging portfolio.
The drive accelerated in 1992, when 19 hotels were added in Australia and the United Kingdom in one year alone. Another 13 properties are currently in various stages of construction.
Marriott's management contracts and franchise agreements for the properties scheduled to open this year alone include hotels with 515 rooms in Kuala Lumpur, 423 rooms in Bangkok, 405 rooms in Seoul and 390 rooms at London's Heathrow Airport. (hhr)