Marriott continues to grow its portfolio in the Asia Pacific region.

In late July, the company opened its 800th property in the region and first JW Marriott branded property opened in Japan—158-key JW Marriott Hotel Nara. Before the end of the year, it expects its EDITION and Aloft brands to debut in Japan. And across the Asia Pacific region throughout 2020, the company’s millennial-centric Moxy brand anticipates its first hotel opening in China—the Moxy Shanghai Xujiahui.

“We remain confident in the resilience of travel, our owners and franchisees, guests and associates as well as the future prospects of lodging in Asia Pacific, our second-largest market,” said Craig S. Smith, group president, Asia Pacific for Marriott International. “We are encouraged by recent trends, especially in China, where demand has been driven primarily by domestic tourism, and we will continue to focus on strengthening our footprint in this important, growing market.”

In the last three years, Marriott has, on average, added close to 80 hotels per year in the Asia Pacific region. Its pipeline has grown by nearly 10 percent annually over the same time period. In the first half of 2020 alone, the company recorded 73 new signings, including 43 in the Greater China region.

“These highly-anticipated brand debuts are a testament to the confidence that the owner and franchisee community has in Asia-Pacific, as well as Marriott International’s long-term vision, especially in today’s challenging business climate,” said Paul Foskey, chief development officer, Mariott International, Asia Pacific.

Marriott has also seen a 20 percent increase in the number of conversion hotels added to its Asia-Pacific portfolio in the last three years. Conversions allow owners and franchisees to plug into the Marriott system at a quicker pace compared to opening a new build hotel.

The company reports that it is seeing increased demand in the region for brands positioned at a moderate price-point such as Fairfield and Moxy. To meet this growing demand and support franchisees, it has introduced an “Enhanced Franchise” model. Under this model, Marriott will appoint a general manager for the first year of a hotel’s opening to help train and equip franchisees to leverage the company’s systems.

Other brands Marriott continues to grow in the region include Autograph Collection and AC by Marriott. Earlier this year, it signed Singapore’s first two Autograph Collection hotels, both of which are anticipated to be flying the Autograph Collection brand flag in 2021. In addition, 2020 saw the opening of three AC by Marriott hotels in Malaysia and the AC Hotels Tokyo Ginza.