Marriott open to buying hotel operators: CEO

[LOS ANGELES] Marriott International Inc, the owner of such brands as the Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance, would consider buying more hotel-management companies after its acquisition of South Africa's Protea Hospitality Holdings, chief executive officer Arne Sorenson said.

"We are open to buying more operators for reasons such as adding a new brand, for lack of distribution or because of the economics of a deal," Mr Sorenson said at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in Los Angeles.

Marriott, the second-largest US hotel chain by market value, said last week it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cape Town-based Protea for US$186 million. The transaction will almost double the Bethesda, Maryland-based company's rooms in Africa to about 23,000 and help it expand further in the region, where a growing middle class and rising travel are fueling the fastest pace of hotel development in the world.