Marriott plans to open 17 new properties, including 4,000 rooms, in the UAE by 2011, JW Marriott Jr, the company's chairman and CEO, told Emirates Business in an interview. Overall, the company plans to open 130,000 hotel rooms worldwide by 2012, Marriott added. At present, close to 100% of the 30,000 to 35,000 rooms that the company expects to open during the year are signed and financed, he said.