Marriott International to invest in new hotels in South Africa

Marriott International has announced that it will invest in new hotels in South Africa at a cost of US$ 220m. The American multinational diversified hospitality company says it will develop 3 hotels in South Africa.

The new hotel projects are planned to developed in Cape Town,in partnership with the Amdec Group, this will the add over 500 rooms to the city’s hotel accommodation offering.

According to reports from the company, one hotel will be constructed under their signature trade name, Marriott Hotels- the first Marriott Hotel in Cape Town.

The second will be under the expensive extended stay brand, Residence Inn by Marriott – a first for South Africa as well while the third will be under the upper-moderate-tier lifestyle brand, AC Hotels by Marriott, which is also the first hotel under this brand for the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region.

The AC Hotel by Marriott will add a wholesome 189 rooms and will be located at The Yacht Club in the Roggebaai precinct at the gateway to Cape Town’s waterfront, while the 200-room Cape Town Marriott Hotel Foreshore and the 150-room Residence Inn by Marriott Cape Town Foreshore will be set up at the Harbour Arch.

The project is anticipated to create close to 8 000 jobs and once the hotels are completed, over 700 new hospitality jobs will be created – 470 at the three new Cape Town hotels and 320 in Johannesburg.

Marriott MEA Managing Director, Mr. Alex Kyriakidis noted that the new developments in Cape Town and Johannesburg is a clear sign of how South Africa is important to the international travel market – for both the business and leisure traveller.

“From the perspective of tourism, the addition of these hotels will definitely boost the position of the city as one of the world’s top destinations and we are confident that Cape Town will gain massive benefits from the likely increase in visitor numbers expected in the future,” Mr. Kyriakidis added.

The new developments reinforce Marriott International’s robust growth strategy across the MEA region. The properties are situated in the Melrose Arch precinct, Johannesburg and their opening is projected for 2018.

Marriott International endeavors to expand its current presence on the continent to 27 countries, with over 200 hotels and around 37 000 rooms by 2025.