St. Regis News
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Tops 100th Hotel Milestone in China
Shanghai, China – 19 April 2012 – With recent hotel openings in
Ningbo, Sanya, Yangzhou and Xian, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
(NYSE: HOT) today announced it has surpassed the opening of its
100th operating hotel in China with plans to open 15 additional
hotels by the end of this year. With eight hotels already opened in the
first quarter of 2012, Starwood will open a total of 23 hotels in China in
2012, which is on pace with 2011 openings making 2012 the second consecutive
year the company has opened a record number of hotels here in any one
year.
“In addition to the record-breaking pace at which we are opening hotels in
China, we’ve signed 12 new deals in the first three months of 2012 and Greater
China accounts for 44 percent of our global pipeline driven by an
ever-increasing Chinese domestic travel market, as well as the fast-growing
international inbound market,” said Frits van Paasschen, President & CEO of
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. “Additionally, China
continues to be the richest source of new Starwood guests with more than
600,000 active Starwood Preferred Guest members which is up 62 percent from
last year.”
Since Starwood’s landmark debut of The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel in Beijing in
1985, China has now become Starwood’s second largest market in the world after
the United States and Starwood continues to lead as the largest high-end hotel
operator in the country. Looking ahead, Starwood’s growth in China is
being fueled by the power of its Sheraton and Westin brands and,
increasingly, the momentum of the company’s mid-market brands – Aloft and Four
Points by Sheraton which now boasts the company’s second largest pipeline in
China behind Sheraton.
Sheraton and Westin Continue to Fuel Growth in China, Including
Starwood’s Largest Hotel – Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central
Sheraton is slated to open nine new hotels across China in 2012, reaching a
total of nearly 80 hotels there by 2015. More than one-third of
Starwood’s new hotels in China will fly the Sheraton flag, building on the
brand’s 30-year legacy in the country. In mid-September, the iconic
Sheraton brand will also celebrate the opening of the first phase of the
3,863-room Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central which will be the largest
Sheraton, as well as the largest Starwood hotel, in the world. Offering
three restaurants with poolside cafes, 20,000 sq m of meeting space and two
outdoor swimming pools, Sheraton Macao is a highly anticipated addition to
Cotai Strip, also known as the “Las Vegas of Asia.”
Westin will open four new hotels in China in 2012, resulting in a portfolio of
18 properties in this key market by year’s end, extending the brand’s reach in
second and third tier cities. The new Westin hotels will open in
fast-growing cities across China, including Ningbo, Xiamen, Changbaishan and
Taiyuan.
“About 70 percent of our hotel openings in Asia this year are in China,” said
Simon Turner, President of Global Development for Starwood. “The
incredible growth of our portfolio owes itself to the strength of our brands,
our strong teams, and the confidence from our investors and owners in
delivering world-class hotels and personalized services to our guests.”
Starwood Continues to Grow Luxury Brands in China
After a successful year in 2011 opening St. Regis hotels in Tianjin, Sanya, and
Shenzhen, Starwood’s Luxury Collection brand will open two hotels this year –
Twelve at Hengshan in Shanghai and The Royal Begonia on Hainan Island, China’s
first Luxury Collection resort. The Luxury Collection launched in China
in 2010, with a suitably iconic property – The Astor Hotel – in Tianjin.
Starwood Rolls Out Global Starwood Personalized Travel to 1,100 Hotels
Around the World
Following the successful pilot in key gateway cities across the globe, Starwood
rolled out Starwood Personalized Travel to its nearly 1,100 hotels worldwide.
Chinese guests are now able to experience personalized
home-away-from-home touches, including in-room tea kettles, slippers,
translated welcome materials and on-site translation services, as well as
familiar Chinese favorites like congee.
“With 100 million outbound travelers by 2015, China will become a major global
travel force, and in fact, the largest travel market in the world,” said Miguel
Ko, Chairman and President, Starwood’s Asia Pacific Division. “When they
travel abroad, the Chinese will stay with the hotel brands they know from home,
which underscores the significance of our growing footprint of flagship hotels
in China and its halo effect on Starwood’s hotels around the world. Now
with the global roll out of Starwood Personalized Travel, we have once again
taken the global hospitality standard to the next level – delivering
personalized services to our Chinese guests anywhere in the world.”
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About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and
leisure companies in the world with 1090 properties in 100 countries and
territories with 154,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.
Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels,
resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St.
Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four
Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, and Element SM. The company
boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest
(SPG), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades
and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood
Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation
experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood
brands. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
Article Publish Date: 04/19/2012
