Starwood plans to open 70 to 80 new-build and conversion hotels this year, following 72 new properties in 2010. Nearly 70 percent of the hotels will open outside of North America with the majority of them in Asia Pacific. Forty hotels-half of them in Greater China-are expected to open in the region by year’s end.
“As China prepares to dominate the global tourism market with 1 million outbound travelers by 2015, we expect their loyalty to our brands to have an ever increasing impact on our business worldwide,” says Simon Turner, president of global development for Starwood.
In India, Starwood plans to increase its existing portfolio of 30 hotels by 40 percent in the next two years. The Aloft brand will more than double its footprint in India by year end with the opening of three more hotels, and four additional hotels will open under the Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, and Le Meridien brands. Other key growth areas in the region include Thailand (which will see two Four Points, an Aloft, and the St. Regis Bangkok) and Malaysia (where two Four Points hotels are scheduled to open). The company also plans to launch five new hotels in Latin America in 2011.
Of the new properties opening globally, 60 percent will be in the luxury and upper upscale segment, including six St. Regis hotels and two in the Luxury Collection brand.
