Marriott International, Ritz-Carlton and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide each are preparing new hotel properties in Beijing

. Marriott said its second Renaissance hotel (and eighth overall) in the Chinese capital--a 540-room property--would open in 2008. Starwood said it would debut the Four Points by Sheraton brand in Beijing in mid-2009 with a 301-room property in the Haidan district, a base for "more than 1,000 foreign companies." Starwood has four other Beijing properties, including the Westin Beijing Financial Street scheduled to open this year. Ritz-Carlton in October also will open a new hotel in Beijing's financial district, its second property in the city.