Marriott International Inc. announced the signing of five hotels for its newly established Middle East & Africa Region, including its first properties in Algeria, Ghana and Morocco. The hotels are scheduled to open under long-term management contracts over the next 36 months and represent the company's Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Marriott Executive Apartments brands. The properties announced will add 1,126 rooms to Marriott International's previously announced Middle East & Africa development pipeline of 44 hotels and 10,800 rooms now under construction or in advanced planning. The company announced that its newly formed Middle East & Africa Region will be headquartered in Dubai, effective immediately. Opening between now and year-end 2015, these new properties will boost Marriott's Middle East & Africa's regional presence to more than 70 hotels across six lodging brands totaling nearly 20,000 rooms in 12 countries. The portfolio includes JW Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton hotels in the luxury tier; Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Renaissance Hotel properties in the upscale segment; Courtyard by Marriott in the moderately-priced tier and deluxe Marriott Executive Apartments for extended stay travelers. Hotels announced Marriott's first hotels in Algeria--the 227-room, upscale Algiers Marriott and the 180-unit Algiers Marriott Executive Apartments. Marriott's sixth resort on the Red Sea and eighth hotel in Egypt--the 294-room Sahl Hasheesh Marriott Beach Resort. Scheduled to be rebranded in 2011, it is a conversion from the existing The Old Palace Resort and is owned by Red Sea Hotels Co. Marriott's first hotel in Sub-Saharan Africa--the 209-room Accra Marriott in Ghana which is scheduled to open in late 2010. Owned by African Hospitality Ltd., the hotel will be located within minutes of Kotoka International Airport. Marriott's first hotel in Morocco--the 216-room Marrakech Marriott Palm Golf Hotel which is expected to open in 2012. The company announced new Chief Operations Officer for the Region is Mark Satterfield, currently area vice president for the United Kingdom South & Ireland, based in London. His appointment is effective December 1, 2009 and he will be based in Dubai. Jean-Marc Grosfort has been named Chief Development Officer for the region. Mr. Grosfort's appointment is effective immediately and he will continue to be headquartered in Paris. Most recently, he was senior vice president development for France and Africa.

Phoenix Hospitality Company, a hospitality initiative of the Ruias' promoted Phoenix Mills, has inked a long-term management agreement with Marriott International to set up Marriott hotels in Mumbai and Agra at a cost of INR 3,200 million. The hotels will form part of the Phoenix Group's mixed-use developments at the locations. The Marriott at Market City here at Kurla will be a 300-key hotel. It will come up at Phoenix Market City, Kurla complex, which is under construction. The Kurla project, across 25 acres, will have about 1.35 million sq ft of retail and 1.20 million sq ft of office space, in addition to the Marriott. The Courtyard by Marriott at Agra will be a part of a larger Phoenix Market City project.

Marriott International Inc. has announced opening of the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa (the resort) on January 22, 2010. As a special incentive, the resort is offering a special introductory rate commencing at USD 149 a night or USD 288 including breakfast and golf at the TPC San Antonio.