US: Marriott International has agreed to acquire the City Express brand portfolio from Mexican company, Hoteles City Express.
Hoteles City Express was founded in 2002 and the company’s brand portfolio offers urban, suburban, and extended stay offerings in Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Chile. Its portfolio includes 152 hotels, across 75 cities.
The acquisition will make Marriott the largest hotel company in the Caribbean and Latin America, expanding its presence significantly in secondary and tertiary markets in the region. It will be Marriott’s 31st brand and the portfolio will increase its presence in the region by 45 per cent, to 486 properties across 37 countries.
Once the transaction is complete the brand will become part of Marriott’s franchises and will updated to the name City Express by Marriott.
Marriott will pay US$100 million for Hoteles City’s brand portfolio (City Express, City Express Plus, City Express Suites, City Express Junior, and City Centro). Marriott will also acquire the franchise rights to five under-construction hotels in the pipeline, which will be an additional 676 rooms.
The transaction is expected to make Marriott the largest hotel company in the Caribbean and Latin America (CALA).
Anthony Capuano, chief executive officer, Marriott International said: “This transaction with Hoteles City Express is a strategic win for Marriott and our customers, associates and owners and franchisees. We’re excited to enter a new lodging category – the popular affordable midscale segment where we see significant potential. With City Express by Marriott, we will be providing our customers with more choice through a new, approachable, moderate-priced offering, increasing opportunity for owners and franchisees as well as associates.”
Luis Barrios, founder and CEO of Hoteles City said: “When we started thinking about City Express, we were convinced that a modern, efficient, and affordable brand would be very attractive to the local traveller. After our first 20 years, we are very excited and honoured to work alongside Marriott, a company we’ve always admired, to take the brand to the next level. After having the opportunity to work with the Marriott team, we confirmed that we share common cultural values and a similar approach to hospitality.”
Marriott expects the transaction to close between the end of 2022 and the first half of next year.
Marriott recently opened its new global headquarters in Maryland.
