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Marriott: World’s Largest Hospitality Group to Open New Hotel in Lisbon
2 Dec 2017
Marriot is seeking a riverside location and an investor for a hotel that will belong to the W chain and is expected to have a capacity of 180 rooms.
The world’s largest hotel chain, Marriott International, is looking for investors and an ideal location in Lisbon to open another W hotel, one of the 30 brands owned by the group.
António Pereira, director of the Sheraton Lisboa Hotel & Spa, told Jornal Econômico that “Marriott is always interested in growing and that this growth potential exists in Portugal.”
“We may open more hotels in the country depending on any opportunities,” Mr Pereira stated, adding that “we are open to new partnerships for this purpose, so that multinational or Portuguese companies can invest in this business. Our analysis is ongoing, and we are looking at these opportunities.”
The Marriot group is present in Portugal and will open a W hotel in the Algarve next year, near the Galé area.
The Portuguese capital is the company’s next objective. “We have identified Lisbon, by the type of city and the type of visitor, for opening a new W hotel,” says António Pereira.
Asked if the group’s new hotel in the Portuguese capital would be opened under the W brand, Mr Pereira said: “We consider it an excellent market for the high-end segment for customers up to 40 years of age with elevated purchasing power, which fit into the profile for our ‘W’ hotels.”
“We are looking for an investor and a locale. We expect to decide within a two-year horizon. We would prefer it to be a new unit, but we could also adapt an existing hotel,” he stated.
Regarding location, António Pereira says he is looking at a location near the river. “In Alcântara, 24 de Julho, that general area,” Mr Pereira said.
“It will be a unit set apart by innovative concepts, which will focus on gastronomy and experiences,” he offered.
The new hotel unit W in Lisbon should have a capacity for 180 rooms.
Sheraton celebrates its 45th anniversary
The Marriot group owns one of the best-known hotels in the city of Lisbon, the Sheraton, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year.
It currently has 369 rooms and two floors with meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 150 people. It also has a restaurant, Panorama, based on a Mediterranean concept with renowned chef Miguel Paulino. In addition, there is a spa, a heated outdoor pool, Turkish baths, saunas, cardio-fitness equipment and eight treatment rooms.
A thorough renovation was carried out in 2006/2007, “making the hotel once again as one of the most modern in Lisbon”, offering customers loyalty programs that can be accessed through an app via a smartphone or tablet, where they can also be checked out without having to visit reception.
The Sheraton has always been owned by Starwood Hotels, which was, in turn, purchased by Marriott International. In 2005, a Portuguese company acquired the building, maintaining management by Marriott, which manages more than three dozen brands in the hotel sector worldwide. The purchase of the Sheraton Lisboa building was made by the company HDP Portugal, in an investment of more than 35 million euros, including the rehabilitation of the hotel. HDP, which also owns the Sheraton Porto building, is owned by the family of Mário Vasco Pereira, who besides being one of the shareholders is the chairman of the board of directors of the company.
The acquisition of Starwood Hotels by Marriott International, on September 23, 2016, for an amount estimated at 11 billion euros, created the largest hotel group in the world. In 2015, the latest year for which data are available, Marriott’s total revenues amounted to roughly €4.8 billion.
The group manages more than 6,000 hotels and real estate properties around the world, with more than 1.1 million rooms, more than one hotel room for every 15 people on the planet. In addition to the Sheraton Lisboa, Marriot manages a further ten hotels in Portugal, with another W hotel expected to be opened next year in the Algarve.
Original Story: Jornal Econômico – Nuno Miguel Silva
Translation: Richard Turner