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Marriott International expands in Asia with two hotel brand debuts in Indonesia and India. 13.10.2026 Jakarta Marriott Hotel Gelora - Exterior Marriott International opens two hotels in Jakarta and Rajasthan, introducing Marriott Hotels to Indonesia's capital and City Express by Marriott to India for the first time. Marriott International has announced two Marriott hotel openings in Asia, introducing its flagship Marriott Hotels brand to Jakarta and City Express by Marriott to India. Announced on 12 October 2026, the properties add a combined 294 rooms, suites and apartments across Indonesia and India. The openings expand Marriott's presence in two important Asian hospitality markets, targeting different segments of business, leisure and pilgrimage travel. Hotel booking platform * Jakarta Marriott Hotel Gelora marks the Marriott Hotels brand's debut in Indonesia's capital, offering 238 rooms, suites and apartments. * City Express by Marriott Udaipur Nathdwara Highway opens with 56 guestrooms, becoming the brand's first property in India and South Asia. * The openings strengthen Marriott's presence across full-service urban hospitality and affordable midscale accommodation. Jakarta Marriott Hotel Gelora opens with 238 keys. The new Jakarta Marriott Hotel Gelora is located on Jalan Gelora V in Central Jakarta, close to the city's commercial districts and major leisure attractions. Rising 29 storeys, the property features 203 guestrooms and suites alongside 35 apartments with one to three bedrooms. The accommodation caters to short-stay business visitors, leisure travellers and extended-stay guests. The hotel is approximately a five-minute walk from Palmerah Station and offers access to Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Senayan Golf Course and major shopping destinations. Furthermore, the property features five restaurants and bars, including Kavory for all-day dining, Italian restaurant Belloro, Japanese restaurant Kiyona and Rothias Bar. For meetings and events, the hotel offers six spaces, including a 490-square-metre ballroom that can accommodate up to 450 guests. Additional facilities include a swimming pool, spa, fitness centre, Kids Club and M Club Lounge. Ramesh Jackson, Regional Vice President, Indonesia & Malaysia, Marriott International, said: "The opening of Jakarta Marriott Hotel Gelora is an exciting moment for Marriott International in Indonesia, marking our fourth Marriott Hotels property nationwide. As Indonesia's capital and economic hub, Jakarta is a natural home for one of our most iconic brands. The opening reflects our confidence in Indonesia's growth and our commitment to delivering world-class hospitality in the country's most important destinations." The property is Marriott Hotels' fourth location in Indonesia and its first in Jakarta, strengthening the brand's presence in the country's business and hospitality market. City Express by Marriott makes its India debut in Rajasthan. Meanwhile, Marriott International has introduced City Express by Marriott to India with the opening of City Express by Marriott Udaipur Nathdwara Highway. The 56-room property marks the brand's first hotel in South Asia and becomes Marriott International's 22nd brand operating in India. Hotel booking platform Located along National Highway 58 in Rajasthan, the hotel serves travellers visiting Udaipur and Nathdwara, an important pilgrimage destination. Discover more Travel news subscriptions Sustainable tourism consulting Daily travel news The property is approximately 35 kilometres from Maharana Pratap Airport and 30 kilometres from Udaipur Railway Station. Its guestrooms include Wi-Fi, workspaces, televisions, mini refrigerators and other facilities intended for business and leisure stays. The hotel also provides an all-day dining restaurant and fitness centre. Cristiano Rinaldi, Chief Lodging Product & Services Officer, Asia Pacific excluding China, Marriott International, said: "India represents an important growth market for Marriott International, and the debut of City Express by Marriott further broadens the range of travel experiences we offer across the country. Built around quality, simplicity and value, the brand responds to the needs of today's travellers with modern comforts and an efficient stay experience. We look forward to bringing this distinctive proposition to more guests as we expand the brand across the region." The opening extends Marriott's affordable midscale offering into a tourism corridor serving pilgrimage, leisure and domestic travel demand. Two openings reflect Marriott's multi-segment expansion. The two Marriott hotel openings illustrate the group's approach to expanding across different accommodation categories in Asia. In Jakarta, the flagship Marriott Hotels brand targets business travellers, meetings and events, and leisure visitors through a full-service property. By contrast, City Express by Marriott introduces a smaller midscale hotel along an established travel corridor in Rajasthan. The developments also demonstrate opportunities for international hotel operators beyond traditional luxury destinations and major city centres. Hotel booking platform For the hospitality industry, the two openings reflect demand for different property formats, from larger urban hotels with meeting infrastructure to compact accommodation serving domestic and regional travel. Both properties participate in Marriott Bonvoy, the group's global travel loyalty programme, allowing eligible guests to earn and redeem points. With a combined 294 keys, the openings further diversify Marriott International's accommodation portfolio in Indonesia and India while extending two of its brands into new local markets. Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.

Marriott is testing a new upgrade waitlist that ranks elite members. Ruslana, a member of the Pointscrowd community, combines her love for travel and loyalty points to craft engaging content. Her blog focuses on maximizing travel rewards, helping fellow travelers explore the world through points and miles. PointsCrowd is a community-supported platform. When you apply for a credit card, make an order, or otherwise interact with the advertisers through the links on this page Pointscrowd may earn an affiliate commission. This helps Pointscrowd maintain and develop the platform further at no cost to you. Page Contents Marriott is testing a new in-app feature that does something hotel loyalty programs have mostly avoided: it tells elite members exactly where they stand in line for a complimentary room upgrade. It's the kind of transparency airlines have offered on upgrade waitlists for years - and depending on your position in the queue, it might be a feature you wish you'd never seen. What the feature actually shows. The test appears inside the Marriott Bonvoy app, typically surfacing around mobile check-in, roughly one to two days before arrival. Eligible members see a screen labeled "Your Complimentary Upgrade Status," which displays two pieces of information: * Estimated Upgrades Available - the number of rooms matching your booked stay dates and bed type that could become available for an upgrade. * Your Current Position in Line - where you rank among other elite guests waiting for one of those rooms. Marriott's own language in the app warns that both numbers can change, and that Nightly Upgrade Awards (NUA) - the certificate-based upgrades Titanium and Ambassador Elite members can apply to a stay - are prioritized ahead of complimentary upgrades and aren't reflected in the position shown. If a complimentary upgrade does clear, members are notified about one day before arrival. A real example: watching your position slip. One of the more telling early reports came from a Titanium Elite member who checked the feature and saw themselves ranked second in line, with zero upgrades currently available. Checking back later, their position had actually moved to third - not because they lost priority, but because other qualifying guests had already arrived and claimed a spot in the queue ahead of them. It's a small detail, but it illustrates exactly what an airline-style waitlist reveals that the old system never did: upgrades aren't just about your elite tier, they're about how many other elite members happen to be checking in around you. Very limited - and inconsistent - rollout. This is a true beta test, not a feature rolling out broadly. Most Bonvoy elite members currently don't see it at all, and reports suggest it's inconsistent even for members who do have access - the same traveler with two simultaneous reservations found the upgrade list appeared for a SpringHill Suites booking but not for a Marriott-branded hotel booked at the same time. That points to a limited, property-by-property or market-by-market test rather than a systemwide change, at least for now. What the list doesn't tell you. The feature shows that rooms matching your stay dates and bed type exist - but it says nothing about what kind of rooms those are. A member ranked first with "5 upgrades available" has no way of knowing whether those five rooms are genuine suites, or simply higher-floor standard rooms with a marginally better view. That distinction matters a lot for anyone weighing whether to pay out of pocket for a guaranteed suite upgrade instead of waiting on a complimentary one. Why this is more complicated than it looks. Showing members their position in line doesn't change how many upgrades actually exist - it just makes the scarcity visible. Hotels have long been able to hold suites off the upgrade list entirely (marking them not-yet-cleaned, or reserving them for potential same-day sale), and Marriott removed its "best available room" upgrade guarantee back in 2025, giving properties more discretion over what actually gets released for complimentary upgrades. A transparent waitlist built on top of a smaller, more discretionary inventory pool risks doing the opposite of what it sounds like it should do - instead of reassuring elite members, it could make it obvious just how few upgrades are realistically in play at a given property. There's also a commercial angle worth watching. Airlines that show upgrade waitlists often pair that transparency with a paid upsell - "move up the list for $X." Nothing in Marriott's current test suggests a paid option exists yet, but the infrastructure for one would be a short step away from what's already being tested. What this means for your next stay. If you happen to see the upgrade list during mobile check-in, treat it as informational, not predictive - your position can move in either direction right up until check-in, and it doesn't account for NUA certificates other guests might apply ahead of you. The practical takeaways for now: keep doing what already improves your upgrade odds - linking your elite number at booking, checking in early, and calling the property directly for high-value stays - and don't assume the absence of this feature in your app means anything about your status or your odds; it almost certainly just means your property or market hasn't been added to the test yet. Bottom line. Marriott's upgrade waitlist test brings welcome, airline-style transparency to a process that's historically been a black box - but transparency alone doesn't create more upgrade inventory. Until the test expands and it becomes clear whether Marriott pairs this with anything else (like a paid skip-the-line option), the most useful thing elite members can do is keep expectations realistic: seeing your position in line is interesting, but it's not a guarantee, and for most travelers, most of the time, it will mainly confirm what's already been true - upgrades are scarcer than Bonvoy's marketing suggests. Frequently asked questions. 0 of 4 FAQs read What is Marriott's new upgrade waitlist feature? It's a beta feature in the Marriott Bonvoy app that shows elite members an estimated number of available complimentary upgrades and their current position in line for one, similar to an airline upgrade waitlist. When does the upgrade position appear in the app? It has been showing up around mobile check-in, roughly one to two days before arrival, though the timing and availability vary by property since the feature is still in limited beta testing. Does the upgrade list include Nightly Upgrade Awards (NUA)? No. Marriott's own in-app language states that Nightly Upgrade Awards are prioritized before complimentary upgrades and are not reflected in the position shown. Can I see my upgrade position for every Marriott stay? Not currently. The feature is a limited beta - most Bonvoy elite members don't see it yet, and it has appeared inconsistently even across simultaneous bookings at different properties for the same traveler. AI Concierge About this article Hi! Ask me anything about Marriott - status, points, cards, or how to use what you've got.

Hotel expansion fuels Sri Lanka's MICE ambitions. / Posted on 12 October, 2026 14:19 A surge in Colombo's hotel supply and venue capacity is elevating Sri Lanka's standing as a business events destination, though buyers stress that regional infrastructure outside the capital must catch up to sustain growth. "There has been a significant increase in rooms and venue capacity for MICE events in Colombo over the past three years," Shekhar Grover, chief events officer at India-based Luxxury Mice Travel, told TTGmice on the sidelines of Sri Lanka MICE Expo, held in Colombo in October. "However, we still need more hotels outside Colombo equipped with MICE facilities," added Grover, who has arranged numerous corporate trips for Indian clients, which is Sri Lanka's largest source market for both leisure and business travel. Over the past three years, brands including ITC, Pullman, Amari, Sheraton, and Marriott have opened properties in Colombo. This includes the City of Dreams, Sri Lanka's first fully integrated resort, which features over 800 rooms alongside extensive event venues. Sandra C. Honrado, group head of membership and international relations at Manila-based Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific, shared that the association successfully hosted its 49th annual congress in Sri Lanka last month with 250 delegates. "The country is lovely, the people are hospitable, and there is a 'wow' factor everywhere," she said. Lu Miaomiao from Chinese exhibition agency HIMICE also expressed similar optimism about Sri Lanka, confirming plans to host a 600-delegate event for the health and food supplement industry in Colombo next month. "Sri Lanka is a beautiful location for MICE events from China," she noted. However, some buyers pointed to high costs. A Malaysian buyer, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that hotel rates in Colombo are higher than in Malaysia or Delhi. "Rates need to come down," he said, adding that five-star hotel rates in Colombo average around US$300, compared to US$250 in Kuala Lumpur. Conversely, first-time visitor Nikolay Sotnikov from Russia's Update Agency said he plans to actively promote Sri Lanka to corporate clients, citing direct flights by national carrier Aeroflot as a key advantage. For Indian buyer Bobbita Das, proprietor of RG Travels, the destination's main shortcoming is a lack of night markets and late-night shopping options similar to those in Thailand or Malaysia. However, she praised the country's warm hospitality, suggesting that two- to three-night coastal cruises would also prove a major draw for Indian groups.