Marriott: Edition venture will stand on its own

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Marriott International Inc (MAR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) expects its Edition hotel joint venture with designer Ian Schrager to stand on its own, with limited links to the hotel company's other brands.

"I'm not sure how visible the Marriott family will be (at Edition hotels)," Marriott Chief Financial Officer Arne Sorenson, told the Reuters Travel and Leisure Summit in Los Angeles via teleconference on Tuesday.

"I suspect it will not have an aggressive affiliation between Edition and other Marriott brands," Sorenson said. "It's likely to be much more like Ritz-Carlton".

Marriott, which operates the Ritz-Carlton, Courtyard and Fairfield chains, is the No. 2 U.S. hotel operator. The company typically uses the so-called "asset light" model, which means it manages hotels rather than owning them.

Last month, Marriott said it had signed the first nine development deals for the new Edition boutique hotel chain.

Marriott announced in June plans for an upscale boutique brand in cooperation with style icon Schrager, who helped define an era of New York night life with Studio 54 and went on to pioneer the boutique hotel concept.

The brand name and development deals are the first signs of progress on Marriott's bid to enter the boutique hotel space, where Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc's (HOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) W brand has set the pace.

Marriott and Schrager expect the first hotels to open in 2010 and expect to sign as many as 30 agreements by the end of 2008. Marriott hopes to eventually open more than 100 Edition hotels, which will have an average of 150 to 200 rooms.

The current Edition projects are in Paris, Madrid, Costa Rica, Miami, Washington, Chicago, Scottsdale, Arizona, and Los Angeles, where two are planned.