Marriott aims to gain ground in RI

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)