COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT OPENS IN PENANG
US hotelier also keen to work with partners in Melaka, Sabah, Sarawak
UNITED States-based Marriott International Inc, the largest hotel chain in the world, is keen to open more hotels in Malaysia following the official opening of Courtyard by Marriott, here, yesterday.
Its area director of marketing (Southeast Asia) Cindy Yoong said it planned to open hotels in Penang, Melaka, Sabah and Sarawak.
“We are looking for the right partners and locations but it will also depend on the brands.
“Sometimes, in key urban areas, brands that are more distinctive, like the W Hotels or Aloft Hotels, are sassier.
“In Penang, we debuted with the Courtyard — a beautiful product that we hope will be the brand’s flagship, here.
“Hopefully, we will have other brands that will work but it all depends as each brand serves a different clientele segment,” she said after the opening of Courtyard by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, here, yesterday.
Also present were Courtyard by Marriott Penang general manager Subash Basrur, Tropicana Corp Bhd group executive vice-chairman Tan Sri Tan Chee Sing and group managing director Dion Tan.
Marriott International’s portfolio consists of more than 7,400 properties under 30 brands and spanning 134 countries.
The Courtyard by Marriott, which is located at the luxurious high-rise residential development Tropicana 218 Macalister, is the 17th Marriott International brand in Malaysia.
It boasts 199 rooms and suites
with unobstructed views of George Town and the Straits of Malacca, a pillarless ballroom that can accommodate 150 guests and eight state-of-the-art meeting rooms.
Tropicana 218 Macalister sits on 0.8ha of prime freehold land in the state capital’s business district and has a gross development value of RM334.7 million.
Asked if it was the right time to open the new property amid the
Covid-19 pandemic, Basrur said Marriott Penang would abide by the g overnment’s C ovid-19 guidelines and standard operating procedure.
Meanwhile, Chow said Penang’s hotels welcomed 6.3 million guests last year while the number of hotel rooms had grown 4.5 per cent to 21,227 from 20,306 in 2018.
“This year was meant to put Malaysia on the global tourism
map with the support of the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign and our own Experience Penang 2020 programme.
“However, the pandemic has put a damper on all of this. The tourism sector is expected to gradually recover by the end of this year and stabilise next year.
“The state government is committed to re-energise the tourism industry through various initiatives,” he added.