Most large American hotel chains have been developing on a global basis for at  least a decade. It hasn't gotten any easier. 

The problems are twofold: Economic swings in certain foreign countries caused companies to redefine expansion plans; and aggressive consolidation in the United States over the past two years means larger companies now need to coordinate different brands, if not a whole array of different products. 

June Farrell, vice president-international public relations at Marriott International, summed up the industry's position: "There is still opportunity within the United States, but there is also great opportunity to begin exporting our brands." 

Marriott, which began with a simple strategy of putting full-service Marriotts in gateway cities and commercial centers such as London and Mexico City, boasts 220 properties in 53 countries. It now is expanding the Renaissance Hotels & Resorts chain, which it acquired last year, and developing internationally the Marriott Executive Residences and Courtyard by Marriott brands. 

"When we acquired Renaissance Hotels, it had a wide range of product," Farrell said. "We had to rationalize its portfolio to make it fit into our portfolio, so we spent the better part of a year figuring out what products would work in what places. We also needed to focus on specific brands and product lines." 

Conversions add reach  

Several conversions of global properties have built Renaissance Hotels' presence to 82 properties spanning 26 countries. 

The problem was similar at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, which in the last two years acquired Westin Hotels & Resorts and ITT Sheraton Corp. 

"The chains Westin and Sheraton will be maintained separately and have separate identities-so to the customers, they will be very distinct," said Ted Teng, Starwood's president-Asia-Pacific. "Behind the scenes, we will be consolidating operations and financing. 

We are heavily into the integration now of the hotel group in terms of organization plans. By having control over the brands, we can even make them more distinct." 

Prior to the acquisition of ITT Sheraton, Starwood had its own expansion plans. The company now is looking to coordinate that with Westin to avoid conflicts and separate the two brands, according to Teng. Westin alone oversees 110 properties globally, with 15 open and nine under construction in Teng's region. 

Asia-Pacific is a good example of a struggling regional economy where hotel expansion plans may start to freeze up, Teng said. 

"Demand has significantly softened, and it may be in the best interest of the hotels not to open too quickly," Teng said. "Also, some of the projects are having difficulty getting financed." 

Still, Westin has been active in Asia-Pacific with projects slated for China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Australia, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia. Slumping economies also create opportunities for companies looking for deals, said Paul Novak, executive vice president-acquisitions and development for Dallas-based Patriot American Hospitality, which owns Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. 

"It's a timing issue," Novak said. "As economies struggle, real-estate values lower and it opens up opportunities to acquire at reasonable prices." 

By the time hotel values hit bottom in places like Southeast Asia, Patriot American hopes to be there. In the meantime, it's planning international expansion  for its existing products. Patriot American's only international product is a small chain called Malmaison by Wyndham, which operates five hotels in the United Kingdom and has two more in the pipeline. 

"We are working on a development strategy right now with the intent on growing it aggressively through Europe," Novak said. 

Even more important to Patriot American's global development schemes is the Wyndham chain, which is already the largest operator in the Caribbean. This is the brand the company hopes to take international in big way, starting in Europe and Latin America. One other brand Patriot American expects to develop outside the United States is Grand Bay Hotels. In addition, over the next two years, Summerfield Suites and Wyndham Garden Hotels will cross borders into Mexico and Canada. 

The situation has been a little different at Hilton Hotels Corp. and Hilton International Co. Although separate companies, a joint reservation system has been in place for years. In 1997, the two also formed a strategic alliance to consolidate sales-and-marketing functions. The launch of a single logo for worldwide application this summer further entwines the two companies. From a customer standpoint, Hilton appears as one brand, said Jim Abrahamson, Hilton's senior vice president-franchising. 

As part of the alliance, Hilton Hotels gains franchising rights to the name in Canada and Mexico, where it expects to expand aggressively. In Mexico, Hilton Hotels already has opened hotels in Mexico City and Guadalajara. Coming soon are Hilton projects in Los Cabos and Cancun and Hilton Garden Inns in Monterey and Juarez. The company already had a deep pipeline in Canada, and is adding Hiltons, Hilton Suites and Hilton Garden Inns in Calgary, Vancouver and Niagara Falls. 

Hilton expands rapidly 

Meanwhile, Hilton International is opening 10 hotels this year and as many as 15 in 1999 (many of which will be conversions). Including the hotels of Hilton Hotels Corp., the "Hilton" name appears on more than 400 hotels in more than 50 countries. 

"Our hotels are individualized-they are not cookie-cutter," said Geoffrey Chester, solicitor, general counsel and secretary for Hilton International. "We are able to be flexible adding either a suite, resort, downtown or airport product." 

Hyatt Hotels already are scattered about the globe and like Hilton, the properties belong to two separate companies, Hyatt Hotels Corp. and Hyatt International Cos. Unlike Hilton, both Hyatt companies still have one owner, the Pritzker family. 

Hyatt Hotels operates 108 hotels in the United States, Canada and Caribbean; Hyatt International manages 56 hotels and 18 resorts in 34 countries. The latter also has more than 30 hotels in development in cities across the globe. The difference in potential for U.S. expansion versus international expansion is that the most growth today in the United States is in secondary markets, said Richard White, Hyatt's director of sales-North America. "The countries we are getting into are more emerging markets, where there is more room for growth," he said.