W Hotels to develop W Rome for Italy

　　W Hotels Worldwide plans to open the W Rome in 2021, marking the first time that the W brand will land in Italy. W Rome will be developed in the Via Veneto neighborhood by Omnam Group through a real estate fund managed by Kryalos SGR.

　　W Rome will be located near the Spanish Steps and the boutiques of Via Condotti, and the property will have 159 guestrooms and suites across two 19th century properties on Via Liguria. Originally intended for residential use, the buildings previously operated as a hotel and offices for government ministries and private companies. The structures will be renovated and rebranded under the W brand while retaining its historic architecture.

　　W Hotels currently operates seven properties in Europe. Ten new W hotels are planned in the region, with the arrival of W Tel Aviv in early 2018, the opening of W Hotels in Madrid, Belgrade and Portugal’s Algarve coast in 2019 and Prague and Budapest in 2020. In addition to Rome, W Hotels is also slated to debut in Marbella and Edinburgh in 2021. W Hotels has a worldwide portfolio of more than 50 properties and is on track to reach 75 hotels by 2020.

　　Meanwhile, Marriott has been expanding through Africa. The group has planned to develop or increase its pipeline with more than 200 hotels with 37,000 guestrooms by 2022, equating to around $8.5 billion of capital investment by its real estate partners. The investment is expected to generate substantial economic activity and around 50,000 direct and indirect jobs once the hotels open. Marriott’s future locations include Benin, Botswana, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal. The group already signed 1,300 new guestrooms to debut Marriott International in Côte D’Ivoire and to strengthen its presence in existing markets, including Ethiopia, Ghana and Nigeria.