MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL CELEBRATES ITS 25TH YEAR IN EUROPE

Marriott International, Inc. (MAR/NYSE) today officially celebrates the 25th anniversary of its lodging operations in Europe with a series of events here involving the community, customers, employees and owners and franchisees of its hotels throughout the continent.

The company opened the 392-room Amsterdam Marriott, its first hotel in Europe, in 1975. By coincidence, the 405-room Renaissance Amsterdam, which is Marriott International’s other property in the city, also opened in 1975. It joined the Marriott International lodging system in 1997 as part of Marriott International’s acquisition of the Renaissance Hotel Group.

Speaking at a press conference at the Renaissance Amsterdam today, William J. Shaw, president and chief operating officer, said, "This truly is a momentous occasion. When we opened the Amsterdam Marriott, there were less than 100 hotels in our entire lodging system. Today, our Europe, Middle East and Africa Region consists of 124 hotels offering 30,000 rooms, with another 22 properties under construction. One hundred of these existing hotels are located in Europe. By the end of next year, our portfolio in the region will total 146 hotels offering more than 35,000 rooms, and more than 120 of these properties will be in Europe.

“Looking back at what we accomplished in this region in just 25 years is stunning. We have more hotels in our portfolio here today than we had in our entire system during our first 25 years of lodging operations in the United States. It is a remarkable achievement. I am very proud that a Marriott International lodging brand flag flies today in almost all of the major cities of Europe.”

He added that 25 years ago, the Marriott International portfolio consisted of one lodging brand. Today, the company has 14 lodging brands offering consumers a hotel for virtually every trip purpose and for almost every travel budget. Six of these brands represented in Europe. Later this month, the company will mark its 2,000th hotel milestone at the grand opening of the 717-room Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel.

Mr. Shaw noted that over the course of the past quarter century in Europe, Marriott International scored some significant “firsts.” In 1989, the 522-room Warsaw Marriott became the first western-managed hotel in Eastern Europe. It was also the first joint venture between a western company and a Polish enterprise. In 1993, the 362-room Budapest Marriott was the first hotel to be acquired by a western organization as part of the Hungarian government’s privatization program, and the 192-room Paris Marriott remains the only hotel on the famed Champs Ellysees.

Record Number of Hotels to Open in 2000
Looking ahead, Mr. Shaw said Marriott International will open a record number of hotels in 2000. “We expect to open over 200 hotels this year, providing more than 37,000 new hotel rooms, or more than 100 rooms a day. Over 25 percent of the new additions will be located in global markets outside the U.S. where we believe our growth prospects are compelling,” he said, noting that Marriott International has less than a one percent lodging market share outside the U.S. He added that by the end of 2003, the Marriott International lodging system will consist of nearly 500,000 rooms.

In the coming months, Marriott International will open the 154-room Courtyard by Marriott Hannover in Germany and the 362-room Renaissance Chancery Court in London. An additional 12 hotels will be re-flagged to a Marriott, Renaissance or Courtyard brand by the Whitbread Hotel Company, Marriott International’s franchise partner in the United Kingdom, as part of that company’s recent acquisition of 30 Swallow hotels. The remainder will be rebranded next year.

Earlier this year, the 150-room Mallorca Marriott Golf Resort & Spa opened in Spain. In the past week, the 114-room Courtyard by Marriott Graz opened in Austria, the 54-unit Longin Center Marriott Executive Apartments opened in Prague, and the 54-room Ramada Hotel Frankfurt opened in Germany.

“While we see terrific opportunity for the further expansion of our quality and luxury tier brands in Europe, we are confident that our moderately-priced Courtyard brand will be a real winner here. With about 25 Courtyard hotels now in operation in Germany, France, Austria and the U.K., we believe we have laid a solid foundation to expand Courtyard in these and other countries throughout Europe,” he said.

Customer Focus and Employees-First Culture Are Keys to Success
Mr. Shaw credited the company’s success in Europe and elsewhere to its customer focus, employees-first culture, operational excellence, technological leadership and organizational leverage.

“Virtually everything we do is a direct result of listening to our guests and delivering products and services that they tell us they want and need,” he said. “We are committed to giving our associates the training and advancement opportunities they need to reach their peak potential. Each of our brands has a set of operating procedures, which we continually update and refine. We have invested millions of dollars in systems and technology to provide better service and develop closer relationships with our customers. Finally, our brands have a loyal constituency of customers and owners, and supported by our organization, they become powerhouse brands with significantly enhanced profitability and growth prospects.”

As part of this week’s festivities, 12 charter employees of Marriott International in Amsterdam will celebrate their 25th anniversaries with the company at a special breakfast on April 7 with Mr. Shaw and other company officials.

“I am very excited about spending time with these folks and helping them celebrate this important milestone in their work lives,” Mr. Shaw said. “These associates and the more than 143,000 other Marriott International associates throughout the world are our most important asset. Without their help, teamwork and loyalty, our company could not have achieved the success it has over the years. We are committed to putting them first so they will put our guests first. This commitment rests at the heart of our corporate core values and is our most important competitive advantage.”

The Marriott International lodging portfolio in Europe currently consists of 101 hotels representing its Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard, Marriott Executive Apartments and Ramada International lodging brands. In addition, the company’s luxury hotel business, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, has two hotels in Europe, and its award-winning Marriott Vacation Club International vacation ownership division operates time-sharing communities in Marbella and Mallorca, Spain.

The following hotels are under construction or in the process of being re-flagged to a Marriott International lodging brand within the next 18 months.

- 395-room Copenhagen Marriott in Denmark (2001)

- 401-room Bucharest Marriott in Romania (2001)

- 184-room Denia Marriott in Spain (2002)

- 380-room Yerevan Marriott in Armenia (2001)*

- 588-room Lisbon Marriott in Portugal (2002)**


* This property is currently operating as the Hotel Armenia and will be rebranded following completion of an extensive refurbishment program.

** This property is currently operating as the Hotel Penta. It will also be rebranded following completion of a renovation program.