After signing 131 new hotel management and franchise agreements in 2012, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide looks to 2013 for continued growth. Nearly two-thirds of the company’s new hotels will open in fast-growing markets. Starwood plans to open its first property in Tajikistan, while also expanding further in markets such as Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Hungary, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Starwood also says that it will continue to focus on finding the right partners for more development in Brazil, Russia, and throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Furthermore, Asia remains a high priority market, accounting for about one-fourth of Starwood’s existing hotel rooms and more than half of its pipeline. Starwood continues to build on its established presence in mature markets and to see strong interest in conversions for growth in developed markets such as North America. The company expects to see increased conversion momentum in 2013 in Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe.
St. Regis Abu Dhabi debuts this year, while two luxury members of the Luxury Collection, the Gritti Palace and Prince de Galles, will reopen after significant multimillion-dollar restorations. Other openings for the Luxury Collection include the Castle Hotel, Dalian (China); Vana Belle, Koh Samui (Thailand); and Palacio del Inka (Peru). In addition, Starwood will open its first W Hotel in mainland China with W Guangzhou and the first W alpine ski resort with W Verbier (Switzerland).
