April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Marriott International said on Sept. 19 it will open three more Select-Service brand hotels in Korea by next year to meet the growing demand from tourists seeking more affordable accommodation options.

The company currently operates 21 hotels in South Korea, and nine of them -- including Courtyard, Fairfield, Four Points and Aloft -- are part of its Select-Service category, which is one of the three groupings of Marriott brands, along with Luxury and Premium. 

“Korea presents tremendous growth opportunities for our Select-Service brands, particularly in second or third tier cities, as well as domestic leisure destinations,” said Peggy Fang Roe, chief sales and marketing officer Asia-Pacific of Marriott International. “We see that our presence in Korea is appealing to the rising number of middle class tourists from both outside and within the country.”

Marriott’s Fairfield made its debut in Korea in April in Seoul. At 572 rooms, it is the largest Fairfield hotel in the world.

Two more Fairfields are set to open in the southeastern port city of Busan by next year and a Four Points is planned for Suwon, south of Seoul, in 2018, according to the company.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)