Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.’s Sheraton brand has reached its 100th hotel milestone in Asia Pacific with the opening of Sheraton Shantou Hotel in China. Sheraton Shantou Hotel is one of nearly 30 new hotels in Asia Pacific this year. Other recent openings include Sheraton Shenyang South City Hotel in China and Sheraton Hua Hin Pranburi Villas in Thailand.
“Sheraton has enjoyed phenomenal success in Asia Pacific where it has helped meet the tremendous demand for high-caliber lodging generated by the rising middle class,” says Hoyt Harper, global brand leader, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts. “Sheraton Hotels in China will account for nearly one third of the new hotels opening this year in Asia Pacific, but we are also picking up momentum in many other countries across the region such as India, Thailand, and South Korea.”
Sheraton is currently the largest global hotel brand in China, which accounts for more than half of the Sheraton hotels currently in operation in Asia Pacific. Sheraton Shantou Hotel marks the 60th Sheraton hotel in China, where the brand has 40 hotels in the pipeline. This growth across Asia Pacific is moving the brand closer to its target of opening its 500th hotel worldwide in 2016.
“Starwood was the first global hotel operator to enter China in 1985 with Sheraton Great Wall, and we continue to build on this legacy in what is, by far, our fastest growing and most dynamic travel market within Asia Pacific,” says Qian Jin, president, Greater China, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. “By leveraging our first-mover advantage, Sheraton has paved an early foothold for expansion in China, and we are confident that we can carry the brand to a whole new level.”
