Edwin D. Fuller

'I arrived on Saturday feeling bullish, and now I am a super-bull on Dubai hotels,' he told AME Info. 'This is a unique place for hotels even compared to Shanghai or Beijing, and I really can't see that changing for at least several years.'

Mr. Fuller is a life-long Marriott staffer who started as a management trainee in 1972, taking over leadership of international lodging in 1991. Since then Marriott has expanded its international portfolio from 16 to 350 properties. The latest is the Marriott Courtyard in The Green Community on the edge of Dubai - close the massive Jebel Ali Free Zone.

'We tailor the Courtyard brand to suit local markets,' explains Mr. Fuller. 'In Dubai the 32 square metre room size is much larger than the same brand would be in Europe, or even North America. We also have more public spaces, more meeting rooms and two restaurants, as this hotel will serve the local community as well as its guests'.

This is Marriott's fifth property in Dubai, and actually gives the global operator the distinction of having the largest number in the emirate. There are two more in the pipeline: the Ritz-Carlton at the Dubai International Financial Centre due to open in 2008; and Marriott Executive Apartments for The Green Community.

'Dubai has a high hotel occupancy market at present with demand in excess of supply,' notes Mr. Fuller. 'This is good for the hotel business, and I think this particular rainbow is going to prove longer than most.

'I respect what Dubai does to promote its tourism industry. The airline Emirates and tourism board are doing a fantastic job with a superb integrated strategy. It is not something that you see in many other parts of the world where we operate.'

Mr. Fuller says that Marriott now has two full-time development executives working on future Middle East hotel projects which is 'exceptional and reflects the importance the group places on the region as a place for future expansion.'

Aside from its two upcoming Dubai hotels, over the next two years Marriott is set to open new hotels in Bahrain and Aqaba and three in Doha: a Renaissance, Courtyard and Marriott Executive Apartments. These are the hotels that are already announced, but Mr. Fuller and his team is clearly preparing many more projects.

'I am here twice a year, and every time there is something new. Marriott is fully committed to this market and there will be a lot more to announce,' says Mr. Fuller.