Marriott International and Simon Property Group are planning to develop at least five more hotels under various Marriott brands at Simon shopping centers over the next few years. Two will be in Florida, and one each in New York, Texas and Tennessee.

The thinking is that a more experiential property, with shopping but also dining and entertainment, needs a hospitality component to promote the shopping center as a destination.

“With consumers increasingly gravitating toward walkable, mixed-use communities, opening new hotels alongside Simon’s retail destinations is an important part of Marriott International’s growth strategy in North America,” Marriott International Chief Development Officer Eric Jacobs said.

The move accelerates the partnership between Marriott and Simon. Currently, there are more than 15 Marriott-branded hotels at Simon properties, including ones in Texas, Florida and Georgia.

The new hotels will be an AC Hotel by Marriott at Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida; an AC Hotel by Marriott at Dadeland Mall in Miami; a Courtyard by Marriott at Wolfchase Galleria in Memphis; a Residence Inn at Roosevelt Field on Long Island; and a Fairfield Inn & Suites at Firewheel Town Center in Garland, Texas.

For Simon, the addition of hotels at its properties is only part of an ongoing $4B initiative to ramp up the experiential aspects of its properties, especially upgrades to gathering places at its centers, and the addition of restaurants, upper-end retailers and hotels.

At Sawgrass Mills, for instance, Simon recently completed the renovation of the open-air Oasis, which offers 14 restaurants, and undertook a full interior renovation and added more retail and a new parking deck. The planned AC Hotel by Marriott will be a further step in the property's evolution.

Other aspects of Simon's initiative include an influx of retailers mostly found online, such as asper, UNTUCKit, Bonobos and Blue Nile.

"The experiential concepts provide something new for customers who then cross-shop other retailers even more than before, as we're providing an experience where they can spend the day with us," Simon Executive Vice President of Leasing Eric Sadi said.