MIAMI—Marriott International Inc. closed 2019 with record growth, adding 10,000 rooms to its pipeline across 15 brands in the Caribbean and Latin America, marking the company’s fourth consecutive year of record expansion in the region.
Last year, the company increased its portfolio in the region to 268 open properties and 55,195 rooms in 34 countries and territories.
“We had a landmark year for hotel transactions in the Caribbean and Latin America in 2019, fueled by the hotel development community’s demand for our leading business support and loyalty program, our attractive brands and strong owner interest in our new all-inclusive brand extensions,” said Laurent de Kousemaeker, chief development officer, Marriott International. “With a growing pipeline of 146 hotels and resorts totaling over 24,000 rooms, we are poised for solid growth in this region, providing more opportunity to drive engagement with our loyalty members.”
In 2019, the company signed 2,100 conversion rooms in the region, leveraging its four conversion-focused brands—Tribute Portfolio Hotels, Luxury Collection, Autograph Collection and Delta Hotels by Marriott. In addition, Delta Hotels by Marriott signed its first deal in the region.
Last August, Marriott launched its all-inclusive program. Less than six months after its launch, the company has signed seven management and franchise agreements for all-inclusive properties representing nearly 3,200 rooms. Among the all-inclusive projects in development are an 800-room Marriott Hotels resort in Jamaica and a 240-room Ritz-Carlton resort in Mexico. The company also completed its acquisition of Elegant Hotels Group, which consists of seven hotels and 588 rooms located on the Platinum Coast of the island of Barbados.
Catering to the next generation of travelers, the company’s AC Hotels by Marriott, Aloft and Moxy brands continue to expand rapidly in the Caribbean and Latin America, signing a combined 1,284 rooms in 2019.