Who We Are: Future
Starwood Hotels & Resorts is one of the fastest growing companies in the
hospitality industry. There is an atmosphere of excitement in knowing the best
is yet to come. Starwood has recently announced some major areas of expansion:
Le Méridien
In August, Starwood announced it has signed
definitive agreements to acquire the Le Méridien brand and all related
management and franchise business for the brand's more than 130 hotels and
resorts. Le Méridien will add another strong brand to our portfolio, offering
a unique experience that resonates with guests. Bringing its reputation for
quality and high levels of brand awareness, the acquisition of the Le Méridien
brand will solidify Starwood as the leader in the global upscale and
upper-upscale segments. Subject to satisfying the conditions to closing, the
deal would close towards the end of the third quarter at which time the Le
Méridien brand would be controlled by Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
aloft
In June, Starwood announced it will debut a new hotel
brand to provide style, design and energy at comfortable rates. aloft is being
developed by the team that created W Hotels, widely regarded as the most
successful new hotel brand in decades. Sharing some of the characteristics of
what the industry refers to as select service, aloft will create a new
category leveraging its W lineage and delivering a unique lifestyle experience
which has been historically absent at this end of the hotel spectrum. The
first aloft hotels are anticipated to break ground early next year and open in
early 2007, and hundreds of hotels are expected by 2015.
China
Over the past year, Starwood has expanded its portfolio
in China significantly with the opening of Four Points by Sheraton Shenzhen,
and the signing of Sheraton hotels in Shenzhen, Xiamen, Ningbo, Haikou,
Chongqing and a new Westin recently announced for Nanjing. With a total of 19
operating hotels and 14 hotels under development in China, Starwood is
well-established as the largest international operator of upscale hotels in
China.
This page contains comments that are deemed to be forward-looking
statements. These statements reflect expectations of the Company’s performance
given its current base of assets and its current understanding of external
economic and geo-political environments. Actual results may differ materially.
