Additions will bring Marriott International's China presence to 59 properties, 22,489 rooms

Beijing, China (June 11, 2008) /ChinaNewswire.com/ — Marriott International (NYSE:MAR) will expand its China portfolio with 18 new hotels now through 2012, nine of which are being announced today.

When all 18 hotels are opened, the Marriott International portfolio in China will encompass 59 hotels providing a total 22.489 rooms, spanning five lodging brands—JW Marriott in the luxury tier, Marriott and Renaissance in the upscale segment, Courtyard by Marriott for the upper-moderate segment and Marriott Executive Apartments for upscale extended stay travelers. The company's The Ritz-Carlton Hotels division also has three hotels under construction in China. All properties operate under long-term management contracts.

"We are thrilled by the continued growth of our hotel portfolio in China,"said Ed Fuller, president & managing director of international lodging for Marriott International. "In just 11 short years, we have been able to significantly grow our presence in mainland China in primary urban centers and now we are expanding our reach into secondary markets and territories throughout the country. Thanks to our diverse brands portfolio, we are providing consumers with a wide choice in accommodations in terms of the type of hotel travel experience selected and the price paid."

Announced today are nine properties which will open in Nanjing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Huizhou, Suzhou and Beijing. Additional hotels are under construction in the following Chinese cities and territories: Shenzhen, Beijing, Hangzhou, Macao, Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

Marriott International's global pipeline of hotels in development or under construction stands at just over 130,000 rooms. Of those, 55,000 are already under construction; over 60 percent of the company's pipeline of full-service rooms is located outside of North America.

INTERNET LINKS

http://www.marriott.com

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) is a leading lodging company with more than 3,000 lodging properties in the United States and 66 other countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Bulgari brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club, Horizons by Marriott Vacation Club, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Grand Residences by Marriott brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers. The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Md., and had approximately 151,000 employees at 2007 year-end. It is ranked as the lodging industry's most admired company and one of the best companies to work for by FORTUNE®, and has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the 2007 Sustained Excellence Award and Partner of the Year since 2004. In fiscal year 2007, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of $13 billion.

[smpr_tags]Marriott International, China portfolio[/smpr_tags]

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