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MARRIOTT EXPANDS LEADERSHIP IN ASIA, PACIFIC & AUSTRALIA REGION

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Marriott Lodging International has expanded its leadership in the Asia, Pacific and Australia region. Three new vice presidents will assist the company in managing its lodging portfolio, which has increased dramatically due in part to the recent acquisition of the Renaissance Hotel Group. Effective immediately, the new vice presidents, who will report directly to Marriott Lodging International President and Managing Director Ed Fuller, are:

� Ray Wong, vice president and executive director for China, based in Hong Kong. Wong formerly was an executive director with the Renaissance Hotel Group. In China, Marriott's lodging portfolio now consists of 21 properties with 18 hotels in the development pipeline.

� Geoff Garside, vice president for Central & Southern Asia, also based in Hong Kong. Garside formerly was general manager of the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong. Marriott currently operates 25 properties and has 29 additional hotels under development in this region.

� Ed Hubennette, vice president of Korea and Japan Operations, based in Seoul. Hubennette most recently was general manager of the Westin Chosun Seoul Hotel after serving as chief operation officer with Royal Garden Hotels in Thailand. The Marriott lodging system has seven properties in operation in this area with eight more hotels in the pipeline.

At the same time, two Marriott general managers assumed expanded roles in the region. They are: Brad Snyder, general manager of the Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club, who is now also responsible for all of Marriott1s operations in Hawaii; and Chuck Kelley, general manager of the Marriott Surfers Paradise Resort in Queensland, Australia, who is now also responsible for Marriott's operations in Australia and the South Pacific.

All will have a support staff and will share certain regional functions such as human resources, operations, engineering, field marketing and revenue management.

According to Fuller, "Our lodging presence in the region has grown from seven properties at the end of 1996 to 62 hotels currently in operation and another 56 in our development pipeline. Four are scheduled to open this year in the region including deluxe hotels carrying Marriott's "JW" designation in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. "We need strong leadership in the field to help us manage our current portfolio as well as to achieve our future growth objectives," he said. "I am very enthusiastic about the team we have assembled and Marriott's lodging future as we move into the next century."

As part of the restructuring, several Marriott officials were elevated to vice president in recognition of their expanded responsibilities. They include Kent Maury, named vice president for sales and marketing; Scott Neumayer, appointed vice president-operations; Lillian Poon, advanced to vice president for human resources, China; Winnie Leung, named vice president of human resources for central and southern Asia; Don Murphy, appointed vice president-engineering. All will be headquartered in Hong Kong. Fuller and Fern Fitzgerald, vice president for international operations accounting, will maintain offices in Hong Kong and Washington, DC.

Opening in the region this year are the following Marriott-flagged hotels: the 51~room JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur which opens in August; the 423-room Saigon Marriott due to open later in the fall. Opening in October under the Ramada International flag is the 333-room Ramada Hotel, Wuxi in China.

Currently under construction in the region are the following Marriott-flagged hotels: 405-room Seoul Marriott, 304-room Cebu City Marriott Hotel, 306-room Kiang Marriott, 400-room JW Marriott Hotel Jakarta, and 325 Mactan Island Marriott Resort.

Under the New World hotel brand, the following hotels are under construction in the region: 331-room New World Villas, in Tianjin, China, opening March 1998; 308-room New World Hotel, Dalian, and the 301-room New World Astor Plaza in Tianjin, both opening in China in 1999; 423-room New World Hotel, Nanking, China, opening in 2000; and the 422-room New World Hotel, Shanghai, opening in 2001.

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