Marriott plans to grow in Europe

NEW YORK

Marriott International Inc. said Tuesday it will double the hotel space it has in Europe.

Currently, Marriott operates 174 hotels in Europe, with 40,000 rooms, and the company said it wants to have 80,000 rooms in Europe by 2015.

There are about 30 projects in Europe in the pipeline including hotels in Moscow, Budapest and Ankara, Turkey.

Marriott plans to introduce two new brands in Europe: Edition, a boutique hotel brand created by Marriott and hotelier Ian Schrager, and the Autograph Collection, independent upscale and luxury hotels and resorts.

Marriott, based in Bethesda, Md., has more than 3,400 lodging properties in 68 countries and territories. It operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Bulgari brand names.