Marriott to take Courtyard up to 40

Marriott International Hotels plans to expand its Courtyard brand to 40 properties in the UK within the year.

Ed Fuller, Marriott's president, said Gatwick, Cambridge, Manchester and London were prime locations for developing the economy Courtyard brand, through the management contract structure at a press briefing in London on Monday (11 July).

Sites in Oxford, Cambridge and Bath were also being sought to add to the luxury Marriott Hotels and Resorts portfolio.

But, the US hotel chain admitted that 70 jobs were lost during the recent integration of the joint venture merger involving 46 Whitbread hotels.

The four Whitbread call centres were consolidated and sales and marketing, finance, revenue management and human resources departments were integrated.

Marriott is continuing to expand worldwide and hopes to have 40 hotels in China by the end of 2006. Marriott began operating in the UK in 1984 and currently has 11 Courtyard hotels in the UK.