Marriott is expanding its portfolio to a budget brand that should debut in the toughest market.

Arne Sorenson is in best mood: on the traditional Marriott press conference prior to the ITB, the company's CEO presents staggering figures to profits. Last year, the company has brought 57,000 new hotel rooms into the world market - an increase of almost 9 percent.

Growth is especially huge in Asia, says the tall American. Well, Europe has given way a little, but this will hopefully not go on. The latest manoeuvre of the venerable hotel professionals from Maryland shows that Marriott intends much with Europe: MOXY is their first foray into the budget range. In Europe, where the struggle for budget most violently rages, the brand has to establish itself in about three years. It is a training area.

This budget concerning room rates does not play the main role: 65-90 dollars a night is mentioned, so it is still considerably higher than European competitors like Motel One, or Ibis. No, a price dumper MOXY is not intended to become - rather a stylish meeting place with young design, like Motel One.

"'Long, thorough market research' has preceded the project, says Ramesh Jackson, Vice President of the all-new brand in the heart of Europe. They call their target group the so called "Millenials" - young people focusing on a rich, elegant and cool accomodation. The first MOXY will open in 2014 at the airport of Milano. Finally, it could be 150 houses over all Europe, Marriott Chief Sorensen believes.

Sure, according to his Governor Jackson, the brand have the potential for global expansion. Each property will have 150 to 300 rooms and offer Wi-Fi throughout the building. Unlike in typical budget hotels in a Moxy there will be very elaborately decorated lounges, there are also conference facilities for business travellers. The official press release that is "breakfast", so does not come from the buffet like in many cheap chain. Marriott will differ so and alludes to the high design demands of the parent company.

Partner with MOXY is a company that has reached a similarly high reputation like Marriott: Swedish furniture giant IKEA will invest in land for the new MOXY-hotels - and also construction contributes something. But not the furniture from our current range of IKEA, as Sorenson smiling informed on the ITB press conference.

But IKEA has developed a construction process that is used also for the prefabrication of largely standardised MOXY rooms. In many details high quality - with granite in the bathroom and very good mattresses - they are very well thought out, to save money: a MOXY per room plus price of land, cost 58,000 dollar writes the Wall Street Journal.

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Roland Wildberg is Travel Writer and Correspondent based in Berlin, Germany. He started as an Editor for the National daily 'Die Welt' (tourism section), later on switched to a freelanced career and nowadays mainly publishes on the Web. Observing the hospitality industry always has fascinated him as it looks like the perfect combination of sleeping and writing – work-live-balance as its best.

Roland also heads the annual 4Hoteliers ITB Berlin news micro-site journalist and video/photo teams for the 5th consecutive year.