ANALYSIS
Getting to Know
Dirk Vlierboom,
General Manager of Marriott Skopje
For 5 years now, Skopje has awaited the opening of a Marriott on its
main city square. As construction nears completion, the hotel’s newly
arrived GM tells Emerging Macedonia what to expect.1
EM: Please tell us a bit about your organization generally as well as the
Marriot project in Skopje.
Vlierboom: Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is a leading
global lodging company based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, with more than
4,100 properties in 79 countries and territories and reported revenues of
nearly $14 billion in fiscal year 2014. The company operates and franchises
hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 18 brands. For more
information or reservations, please visit our website at www.marriott.com,
and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com.
With regards to the Skopje project, we will have 164 well-appointed rooms
(minimum size 30 sqm and 40 interconnecting rooms), including 21 Suites
and an Executive floor & Lounge. Our Presidential Suite is 184 sqm of
luxury and offers a separate 50 sqm meeting room with simultaneous translation. In addition there will be a Health Club featuring a 9 meter indoor
pool, Jacuzzi, 4 different types of saunas, numerous relaxation zones, a gym
with state of the art Technogym equipment and a spa featuring 3 treatment
rooms, manicure, pedicure and hair dressing services (pre-ordered).
Our public areas will host the Marriott Great room which will lead into
our Day & Night bar and our street accessible restaurant and Terrace featuring our market place, live cooking and wood fired grill. On the first floor
we will have a selection of meeting rooms (some divisible) with natural
daylight and state of the art AV equipment and introducing Marriott’s new
Meeting Concept.
1 NOTE: This press release contains “forward looking statements“ within the meaning of
U.S. federal securities laws, including statements about the number, locations and opening dates
for new hotels, and similar statements concerning anticipated future events and expectations
are not historical facts. We caution you that these statements are not guarantees of future
performance and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including supply and
demand changes for hotel rooms; competitive conditions in the lodging industry; relationships
with franchisees and property owners; the availability of capital to finance hotel growth; the
receipt of governmental and other consents, and other risk factors identified in Marriott
International, Inc.‘s most recent quarterly annual report on Form 10-K; any of which could
cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by our statements.
These statements are made as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whethe