Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE-MAR) announced today its plans to open a Worldwide Reservation Centre in Sarnia, Ontario.
This will mark Marriott’s second centre in Canada and the first for Ontario. Worldwide Reservations currently operates a call centre in Fredericton, New Brunswick and has enjoyed great success there.
Marriott decided to open a centre in Sarnia because of its favourable location and the quality of the available applicant pool. “We are very pleased that we are going to do business in Sarnia”, commented L. Kaye Dengel, Vice President of North American Reservations. We looked a several locations throughout Canada before making our final determination that Sarnia would be the best choice for Marriott International. The strong availability of resources and the cost savings involved make this a win-win situation for both Marriott and the city of Sarnia.”
“The addition of a second call centre in Canada to handle our North American Lodging business is a further reflection of the confidence that Marriott has in the strength of the Canadian economy and the excellent labour pool. This complements our rapidly expanding network of Marriott branded hotels from coast to coast. With 34 hotels open in Canada, representing 6 of our brands, we are currently working on further development and conversion opportunities, consistent with our goal to have over 75 hotels under contract in Canada in the next 3-5 years,” said Alain Piallat, President of Marriott Hotels of Canada.
Marriott’s newest call centre will occupy the existing space located at 1335 London Road in Sarnia, near the Lambton mall. At approximately 12,000 square feet, the centre will handle inbound calls for reservations for the Marriott Lodging portfolio and is expected to handle approximately 600,000 during their first year with the capacity to handle up to 3 million calls annually by the end of 2004.
Upon completion of renovations, the centre will create approximately 200 jobs in the community. Once the hiring process is complete, Marriott hopes to have the centre up and operational with the ability to take their first calls sometime in June.
The new Sarnia location will become Marriott’s 13th North American call centre. Marriott Worldwide Reservations currently operates call centres in the following locations: Atlanta, GA; Gaithersburg, MD; Omaha, NE; Salt Lake City, UT; San Antonia, TX; Santa Ana, CA; Solon, OH; Somerset, NJ; Stockton, CA; Miami, FL; Phoenix, AZ and Fredericton, New Brunswick.
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC. (NYSE: MAR), a leading worldwide hospitality company celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2002, has nearly 2,600 operating units in the United States and 64 other countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, the Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Ramada International brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Grand Residence Club brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers. Other Marriott businesses include senior living communities and services, wholesale food distribution and synthetic fuel. The company is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has approximately 142,500 employees. In fiscal year 2001, Marriott International reported system wide sales of $20 billion. For more information or reservations, please visit our website at www.marriott.com.
Contact:
Diana Conconi
416-645-8196
conconid@fleishman.com