New 187-Room Courtyard by Marriott Hotel Planned Near Toulouse-Blagnac International Airport in France

Bethesda, MD .-Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) will open a 187-room, moderately-priced Courtyard by Marriott hotel opposite the Aeronautic Park, approximately one kilometer from Toulouse-Blagnac International Airport in 2009 in France. Aeronautic Park is home to Airbus Industries.

Approximately a 10-minute drive from the historic city center of Toulouse, the Courtyard by Marriott Toulouse-Blagnac International Airport hotel is expected to attract business travelers drawn to Toulouse, a major industrial and R&D center, specializing in aeronautical engineering, biotechnology and information technology.

Courtyard is a highly specialized hotel that serves travelers who want consistent and dependable accommodations and amenities that help them make the most of their time on the road. Courtyard guests are balancers—a new, hybrid breed of achievement and enjoyment travelers who actively manage the demands of their business life with their own demands for personal time.

“European business travelers are looking for quality, innovation, functionally, service and style at a fair price. We are confident that this newly designed, stylish, contemporary Courtyard hotel with its distinctive European flair will be an immediate hit with the traveling public. It will offer the right price-value balance while delivering the consistency of product and service for which Courtyard is world-renowned,” said Arne Sorenson, Marriott’s chief financial officer and president of Continental European lodging.

Because traveler expectations for Courtyard vary geographically, Marriott introduced a specially-designed Courtyard hotel for the upper moderate European travel market two years ago in Colombes, a suburb of Paris. “It has been well-received by the traveling public and we plan to open many of these hotels throughout Europe in coming years,” Mr. Sorenson said.

Accommodations at the Courtyard by Marriott Toulouse-Blagnac International Airport will boast Marriott’s new, highly-acclaimed, plush bedding and bath linens; and will be equipped with two telephone lines; internet access; a well-lit, over-sized work desk and ergonomic chair for comfort, an in-room safe and refrigerator, a coffee maker and an iron and ironing board.

For dining and entertainment, the hotel will have an all-day casual restaurant offering outdoor patio seating, a buffet bar and a lobby lounge and bar.

Additional amenities will include a business center in the lobby Internet corner, a Grab & Go kiosk providing snacks and sundries for those in a hurry, and a fitness center.

For small conferences and social events, the hotel will have 82 square meters of meeting space comprised of a 50-square meter room and a 32-square meter room.

The Courtyard by Marriott brand is currently represented in France with properties in Neuilly and Colombes, a western suburb of Paris near La Defense; and at Charles de Gaulle International Airport.

Courtyard hotels are currently under construction in Europe at London Gatwick Airport in England, at Kristiansund International Airport in Norway and in Stockholm-Kungsholmen in Sweden.

Marriott introduced Courtyard in 1983. Since then, the brand has grown into the company’s largest brand and the world’s 13th largest lodging chain with nearly 800 hotels worldwide.