Marriott International has announced it expects to more than double the size of its portfolio in the Asia-Pacific region in the next few years. With 132 hotels open in Asia today and a pipeline of signed and approved deals now totaling an additional 143 properties, the company expects to grow to at least 265 hotels by 2016, with more than 80,000 rooms in 16 countries.  Commenting on the announcement, Simon Cooper, Marriott International’s president and managing director in Asia, said: “We are delighted with our growth in the region and believe it is a great testament to the popularity of our brands and the quality of our hotels in Asia that we expect to double in size by 2016. “We operate a strategically targeted brand portfolio and our products clearly resonate with our guests, our hotel owners and the communities in which we operate. “We have seen great growth across our portfolio and expect to be launching new brands in the region soon, with the introduction of Fairf...

The best may be over for Singapore's booming hotel market as tightening corporate budgets and bank job cuts leave more luxury rooms empty, crimping profits at firms such as CDL Hospitality Trusts. Singapore runs neck-and-neck with Hong Kong for the title of the world's busiest hotel market, with both boasting occupancy rates that exceeded 85 percent for 2011, according to the two cities' tourism boards. That's higher than in global tourist hot spots such as New York and London . Hong Kong's occupancy rate may pull ahead of Singapore's in 2013, largely because it has fewer new  hotels  slated to open. If Singapore's demand stays lukewarm next year, as many hotel operators expect, room rates and profits will slip. "We will see a slight drop in occupancy rate (in Singapore) mainly due to new supply that is about to come on board in 2013," said Jonas Ogren, Asia director at hotel data provider STR Global , based in Singapore. "In Hong Kong,...

Desde hoy, el libre tránsito entre miembros de la Alianza del Pacífico es una realidad, pues el Gobierno mexicano suspendió desde este viernes los trámites de visas.  Los presidentes de Chile, Colombia, México y Perú , países signatarios de la Alianza del Pacífico, aprovecharán su participación en la XXII Cumbre Iberoamericana de la próxima semana en la ciudad española de Cádiz para celebrar un encuentro paralelo. Así lo anunció hoy el canciller chileno, Alfredo Moreno, al finalizar la tercera reunión ministerial de la Alianza del Pacífico en la ciudad colombiana de Cartagena de Indias, en la que se revisó la marcha de este grupo creado en 2011. "(Los ministros de Exteriores y Comercio) vamos a intentar, dentro de lo que la agenda lo permita, poder tener una reunión con los presidentes, de manera tal que podamos comunicarles todas nuestras decisiones y que ellos tomen las decisiones que sean necesarias y puedan hacer los anuncios", agregó. Est...