Marriott International will manage its third Renaissance-branded hotel in Shanghai under an agreement reached with Shanghai Yuyuan Hotel Development Company.

The property will be called the Renaissance Shanghai Yuyuan Hotel and will open in 2008. It will join two other Renaissance hotels in the city, the Renaissance Shanghai Pudong Hotel and the Renaissance Shanghai Yangtze Hotel, and will be the ninth Renaissance-branded hotel in China.

The Renaissance Shanghai Yuyuan Hotel will be located on Henan South Road in the Huangpu district of Puxi and will be targeted to the individual corporate and leisure traveler. Nearby is Yuyuan Park, one of the main tourist attractions in Shanghai.

"We are thrilled to have our third Renaissance hotel in Shanghai," said Ed Fuller, president and managing director of international lodging for Marriott. "The city has long held magical appeal as a 'must see' destination for the leisure traveler. Today, it is also a cosmopolitan international business center and is developing into a key regional meeting and exhibition venue. We're confident that our newest Renaissance hotel in Shanghai will be very appealing to both business and leisure travelers."

For conferences and social events, the hotel will have 536 square meters of space including a 335 square meter ballroom and three smaller meetings rooms in varying configurations.

In addition to the two Renaissance properties now in operation in Shanghai, the Marriott International portfolio is currently represented in the city by the JW Marriott Hotel Shanghai, the Shanghai Marriott Hotel Hongqiao, the Shanghai Marriott Executive Apartments and the Courtyard by Marriott Pudong. The 223-unit Union Square Shanghai Pudong Marriott Executive Apartments opens in mid-2006.