Interview: Marriott Middle East And Africa COO Mark Satterfield

Doha, Qatar - Marriott International this week celebrated the opening of its City Center project here, a two-tower hotel complex that includes a Renaissance, a Courtyard and a Marriott Executive Apartments property. Mark Satterfield, Marriott's COO for the Middle East and Africa, at the event spoke with Business Travel News hotel editor Michael B. Baker about the region's business travel projections and Marriott's plans to double its presence here by 2017.

What's the outlook for business travel in this region?

If you look at the next 10 years, the projections are that we're going to see good growth in business travel. Some of the fastest-growing economies are in the Middle East and Africa. It's going to provide us with a lot of opportunity for new growth and development. In Africa, our representation is primarily in the northern rim. Our goal ultimately is to get a Marriott product in all the [major] African cities. There's going to be a tremendous amount of business travel as those economies continue to grow and the political environment becomes more stable, and we want to be a part of it. It's the same in the Middle East.

Which industries will do most of that travel?

In Africa, we see clearly the economies are growing where you've got oil and gas development and mineral exploration. Throughout the Middle East, you have Dubai and Doha, which are clearly seen as big hubs for international companies along with the rest of the major regional players, which are going to fuel growth in those markets.

Is instability in the region a concern?

Clearly, the political instability and the social change in some of these countries have impacted business and leisure travel. We take a long-term view. We know over time there's going to be various crises in these countries and there's going to be recessions that we have to face, but eventually things return to normal. Things will stabilize, security will improve, the business traveler and leisure traveler will regain confidence, and they will go back into these markets. We're starting to see signs where business is starting to come back. From a development perspective, there's been a small number of developers who have put their products on hold with some of the turmoil, but for the most part, our projects continue to move forward aggressively, and we're seeing a lot of interest in new projects and development. Our challenge is to make sure that people don't think that just because we have unrest or some instability in a few countries in the Middle East that it represents what's happening across the entire region. Markets like Dubai, Doha and Saudi Arabia are performing very strongly, and they're seeing benefit from some of the instability in other countries, as they're seen as safe places to go and easy places to do business. We're actually seeing some displacement and moving of business to those markets.

What's your growth plan for the region?

We have 37 hotels across 11 different countries in the Middle East and Africa. Over the next five years, we're looking to double in size. We have 37 hotels that are under construction and in development. Those new hotels represent close to 11,000 new rooms that we'll be adding across the region. By 2017, we're going to look to have 74 hotels in total in the Middle East and Africa. In the Middle East, we have expansion plans in a number of different countries, including Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In North Africa, we have a number of new hotels under construction in Algeria, Egypt and Morocco. In Algeria, we're going to have a multi-hotel complex, similar to what we have here in Doha, with four brands in one location. In sub-Saharan Africa, we're going to be opening our Marriott in Ghana in early 2012 followed by new properties in Rwanda and Benin, and we're getting ready to announce a new project in Nigeria.

You mentioned Iraq, where Best Western and Hilton recently have announced projects. Is that a new area of interest?

Everyone is looking for opportunities where the markets can support new hotels. Clearly, Iraq is a market where there's not been a lot of development. We're optimistic long-term about business growth in that country, as it continues to become more and more stable. We have two projects planned in Erbil, Iraq, which is in the Kurdish area. They've had really no security issues there. There's a lot of activity there around oil, and a lot of businesses are starting to set up operations there, so it's a great opportunity to get in early and grow in that region.

Do you ultimately plan to introduce all of Marriott's brands to the region?

We have 15 brands globally. Realistically, over the short to medium term, we're going to be focusing on seven of our brands to grow here. Today, across the region, we offer six brands: Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Renaissance, Courtyard by Marriott and Marriott Executive Apartments. We'll be introducing Residence Inn to Bahrain early next year, and then we'll open our second in Jizan, Saudi Arabia. That doesn't mean there won't be additional brands down the line, but I don't see it short-term, necessarily.

Are travelers in the region familiar with Marriott hotels?

Marriott's been a part of the Middle East for over 30 years. Our first hotel in the region [opened] in 1981, the Riyadh Marriott in Saudi Arabia. As you look around the region, we have a good representation of our Marriott, JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton brands in all the major markets, and we've been there for a long time. For the Middle Eastern and African travelers, those brands are well-known and recognized, and there's a great affinity for it. That's clearly going to help us as we move forward in developing our next set of brands, whether it's the Courtyard by Marriott, continuing to grow the Renaissance brand along with the Residence Inn and Marriott Executive Apartments. Our strategy is always to get into the cities with our core brands, then follow with these other brands we have.