Kigali - Marriott International continues its expansion across Africa with signings of new properties in Cape Town, Nairobi, Cairo and Mauritius.
Marriott also recently completed the acquisition of Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which has increased Marriott’s distribution in Africa.
“The past couple of weeks have seen an incredible transformation for our company and I am proud to say that we are continuing the momentum with our expansion and development plans across the African continent,” said Alex Kyriakidis, president and managing director, Middle East and Africa, of Marriott International.
The Kigali Marriott Hotel was opened this week and the company announced six new deals across Africa, which when open, are expected to bring its total African property and room count to 205 and 37 000 respectively.
These new signings comprise over 1 100 rooms and include AC by Marriott’s brand entry into Africa.
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The Cape Town deals are in partnership with the Amdec Group, Marriott’s long term partner and owners of the new Marriott Hotel and Marriott Executive Apartments Melrose Arch in Johannesburg, announced last year and currently under development.
The Amdec Group has been instrumental in bringing in Marriott International’s global brands into South Africa, as they were the first to announce Marriott Hotels, Marriott Executive Apartments and now AC by Marriott and Residence Inn by Marriott into the market. The AC Hotel Cape Town Waterfront will be located at the gateway to Cape Town’s Waterfront, while Harbour Arch will be the site of the 200-room Cape Town Marriott Hotel Foreshore and the 150-room Residence Inn by Marriott Cape Town Foreshore.
Mauritius
The first deal to be signed since Marriott’s completed acquisition has been that the Sheraton brand will make a debut on Mauritius with Sheraton Mauritius St Felix Resort and The Residences at Sheraton Mauritius St Felix Resort.
Owned by Clear Ocean Hotel Resorts, the resort will be a part of a mixed use development with a boutique retail mall and branded residences. Scheduled to open in early 2020, the resort will feature 152 guest rooms and suites and 37 branded apartments and villas.
READ: Marriott set to expand in SA, Africa
Egypt and Kenya
The first Element Hotels property signed in Egypt will be the largest Element Hotel in the Middle East and Africa.
Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi, Hurlingham, is the brand’s second hotel in the city. Owned by Kamcan Properties, the 96 room hotel is a conversion from an existing hotel and will be operated under a franchise arrangement. It is expected to open in 2017.
“These news deals are testament to our combined development efforts going forward, as there are significant growth synergies between the brands and our newly combined company, with a focus on expending brands across the region, and looking for opportunities in new markets,” said Kyriakidis.
He said that, continuing to capitalise on opportunities within the region, Marriott International has set a clear objective to be represented in all major gateway cities, commercial centres and established resort destinations, while catering to a wide variety of market segments.
Each of Marriott International’s brands, including those in the pipeline, targets a specific segment and support the increased inflow of visitors within that segment.
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