I understand that. In fact, in my post that you quote, "they" refers to the developer/owner (which might or might not be local) and not Marriott headquarters.

Usually the developer would acquire the land as part of the planning for the hotel (or mixed use) project. They wouldn't just be sitting on some land (vacant lot) and suddenly decide that the time is right to make it into a "luxury" hotel unless they think the land will appreciate faster than the return rate on other potential equally risky investments. Otherwise, if they own a chunk of land, they would be trying to sell it rather than holding it just because someday it might become a hotel. In some jurisdictions, the purchase of land would be after or contingent on obtaining zoning and planning commission (etc.) permissions for the project.