JW Marriott Opens 160-Key Hotel on China’s Holiday Island

JW Marriott Sanya Haitang Bay. Image courtesy of Marriott International Inc.

Marriott International Inc. continues its aggressive Asia-Pacific expansion plan with the opening of a new JW Marriott hotel on the Haitang Bay in Sanya, China. The 160-key JW Marriott Sanya Haitang Bay marks the luxury brand’s second resort on the holiday island of Hainan and its 18th property in Greater China.

A four-story hotel located along an approximately 13.5-mile-long shoreline, Sanya Haitang Bay has guestroom offerings that include 18 villas featuring roughly 7,200 square feet. The high-rend destination also provides more than 37,600 square feet of meeting space, two dining facilities and a full-service spa.

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The introduction of Sanya Haitang Bay comes just one year after the JW Marriott flag made its debut on Hainan with the opening of the 435-key JW Marriott Hotel Sanya Dadonghai Bay, which had previously operated as the Sanya Marriott Hotel Dadonghai Bay.

Demand for accommodations on the island is on the upswing. According to newly released local government statistics, cross-border visits into Hainan continued on the upswing in 2019, increasing 22 percent year-over-year to more than 2.8 million.

Regional Growth Spurt

The opening of Sanya Haitang Bay is part of Marriott International’s greater growth endeavor. The hotel giant, which operates more than 20 brands in Asia-Pacific, announced in April 2019 that it intends to increase its footprint to 1,000 hotels in the region by the end of 2020. New additions will include the 300-key Fairfield by Marriott Osaka Namba, which will mark the debut of Fairfield by Marriott brand in Japan. And Marriott International will establish a presence in Myanmar with the Sheraton Yangon Hotel later this year.

However, it’s China that plays a leading role in Marriott International’s expansion program, accounting for more than 50 percent of the company’s 300-property Asia-Pacific pipeline. Leisure demand for Marriott hotels in China is growing, as Kathleen Oberg, Marriott International’s CFO, said during the company’s third quarter 2019 earnings conference call held on November 5.