Op-Ed: ‘Greece is a vital market in terms of Marriott’s future growth in Europe’ – Timothy Walton, Marriott International

Timothy Walton

Senior Vice President, Development – Western Europe, Marriott International

As one of the world’s largest travel companies, Marriott International offers unmatched choice for travellers with an expansive portfolio of over nearly 8,900 properties across 30 brands, and the world’s most admired loyalty programme, Marriott Bonvoy.

With global travel poised for continued growth, we remain focused on expanding and diversifying our portfolio to be in more places around the world and continue delivering the best brands and experiences for travellers.

Our development strategy involves the expansion of Marriott’s brands primarily through means of management and franchise contract. To that end, our focus has always been to work with the right partners in the right places and on the right brands, which ultimately leads to providing unrivaled value and choice to our guests and to long-term, profitable partnerships with our owners and franchisees. This growth strategy has proved to be successful for Marriott International in Greece where we currently have more than 35 hotels and over 5,000 rooms in operation across nine brands, spanning from limited service to luxury.

Our leadership position in Greece results from us consistently delivering value to our owners and franchisees. Our long-established presence in the country, compelling portfolio of diverse brands, award-winning loyalty programme and the strength of our distribution platforms continue to position us at the forefront in the country.

Greece is a vital market in terms of Marriott’s future growth in Europe. With its breathtaking geography, historic landmarks, a culture of hospitality and constantly improving international accessibility, the country remains one of the most attractive destinations for today’s global traveller and despite recent setbacks, tourism stands at the cornerstone of the country’s economy.
We have been delighted with the performance of our properties in Greece and remain optimistic about the market in the long-term. We know consumers are prioritising travel above other expenditures and have great confidence in Greece’s position as an attractive, safe, welcoming and accessible destination for international jetsetters.

To that end, we are placing a strong emphasis on growing our leisure and luxury offerings. A growing middle class and rise in worldwide wealth has resulted in strong luxury travel demand. Our Marriott Bonvoy research reveals that in Europe, high-earning respondents will spend over one fifth of their annual income on holidays and short breaks each year and we continue to focus on capturing these affluent consumers in our system.

Luxury currently represents more than 30 percent of our portfolio in Greece, with additional projects in the pipeline including our most recent signing in collaboration with the Vasilakis family and SWOT Hospitality to bring the JW Marriott brand to Greece. Situated on Marathi Beach on Crete, the property will be a haven for travelers who seek a luxury escape paired with exceptional service and holistic well-being experiences. We will also expand The Luxury Collection’s portfolio with additions on Rhodes and Patmos islands.

In line with our growth plans, we also see potential to introduce high-end all-inclusive experiences in the country along with opportunities for more midscale accommodation.

The company is also seeing strong demand for both hotel conversions and adaptive reuse (i.e. the repurposing of other real estate asset classes). More than 50 percent of our development pipeline in Greece is through the upgrade of existing hotels and adaptive reuse, which reinforces the confidence our owners and franchisees have in Marriott International as they look to reposition assets and maximise returns. In terms of these owners and franchisees, the majority are local but we are seeing ever increasing investment appetite in Greece from the international and institutional investment markets.

We are excited about Marriott International’s prospects in Greece in the short and long-term. We look forward to supporting the country’s tourism sector and to working with our partners to continue elevating the hospitality industry in the market.