Marriott foresees growth in Islands

By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer

Marriott International plans to continue to expand its presence in Hawai'i's hotel industry, saying travel to the Islands has significant growth potential.

"Our guests think this is the place to be," said Ed Fuller, president and managing director of Marriott International's international lodging division. "The Hawaiian Islands will be one of the top leisure destinations in the world for many, many years to come."

Fuller and other Marriott executives are meeting in Waikiki this week.

Marriott has significantly increased its portfolio of hotels in Hawai'i in recent years. In the future, higher-capacity airliners, along with rising global prosperity, will enable more travel to Hawai'i from places like China and Russia, Fuller said.

"The new airliners are going to open up markets like you've never seen," he said.

Hawai'i is well-positioned to take advantage of continued growth in leisure travel, he said.

"The growth is stronger in leisure than in business," Fuller said. "People are wanting to take time off."

With that in mind, Fuller said he sees potential in Hawai'i for growth of JW Marriott, which is the brand of the company's hotel at Ko Olina, as well as other Marriott hotels. Marriott has eight resorts in Hawai'i — on O'ahu, Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island — that operate under several different brands. Two of those brands, Renaissance and Ritz Carlton, also have good potential for expansion, he said.

"We see potential for Renaissance to expand to the outer islands," Fuller said. "And I would assume that you would find other Ritz Carltons evolving over time."

Those brands likely would be placed on existing hotels, because building new hotels is not as financially attractive, said Stan Brown, Marriott's vice president in the Pacific Islands and Japan.

Fuller also said that Marriott is studying potential sites for more time-share units in Hawai'i.

To take advantage of trends in travel worldwide, Hawai'i needs to attract more travelers from different parts of the world, he said.

"You don't want to rely just on the Japanese and American markets," Fuller said.

Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470 or kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.