Marriott International to add 300,000 hotel rooms after Starwood deal

Hotel chain Marriott International said Tuesday that it would accelerate its global growth strategy, adding up to 300,000 rooms worldwide by 2019 after recently completing its acquisition of rival Starwood Hotels.

The company said its pace of new hotel openings would speed up from 5% annually over the last three years, when including the Starwood brands, to 6.5% over the next three years.

Marriott said the additional rooms would add $675 million in annual fees. The Bethesda, Md.-based chain said the openings amount to about one new hotel every 14 hours, part of a plan to keep pace with a projected 7% annual growth rate in global travel over the next 10 years.

The company also projected earnings-per-share growth of $5.25 to $5.80 by 2019 over 2016's results.

Marriott said that following the Starwood acquisition it and new-construction plans it will have 8% market share in global hotels, making it the world's largest hotel chain.

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The company also said its loyalty programs now have more than 100 million members.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.