Starwood to Open 50 New Hotels in Europe over Next Five Years

From the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

today announced plans to open 50 new hotels in Europe over the next five years, increasing its European hotel portfolio by 30%. This year, Starwood will open nine new hotels across the continent, primarily in fast-growing markets, a key focus of Starwood's long-term development strategy in Europe. At the same time, Starwood and its partners are making significant investments to restore and enhance some of the company's most iconic European hotels. “Europe continues to be home to many of the world's most sought-after destinations and to attract travellers from markets around the globe,” said Simon Turner, President of Global Development for Starwood. “There is strong demand for all of our brands on the continent and, after years of tight supply, we are seeing great deal signing momentum in Europe both in established and rapidly growing markets.” Starwood Expands European Footprint Since 2009, Starwood has added 25 new hotels to its European portfolio of now 163 hotels in 32 countries. This year alone, the company will open nine new hotels in established as well as fast-growing markets such as Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Turkey. Highlights include: Three new Starwood hotels in Turkey, including the debut of the Sheraton brand in Adana, Turkey's culturally-charged commercial and agricultural centre as well as the entry of the Sheraton and Aloft brands in Bursa, Turkey's fastest growing city. Starwood is rapidly expanding its footprint in the country with four new hotels opening within a two-year period, including last year's debut of Le Méridien Istanbul Etiler. With that, Starwood will operate 10 hotels in five Turkish cities: Istanbul, Ankara, Cesme, Bursa and Adana. Starwood's third hotel in Moscow with the opening of the Sheraton Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport Hotel, part of the Skypoint Business Park located 800 metres from the country's busiest airport. In the next four years, Starwood will nearly quadruple its portfolio in Russia and the CIS with 11 new hotels in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Perm, Kaluga, and Krasnodar in Russia, as well as in Kiev, Ukraine and Ismayilli, Azerbaijan. Building on Starwood's first-mover advantage, the entry into Tajikistan with the opening of a new Sheraton hotel in the country's capital city of Dushanbe, followed by the launch of a Sheraton hotel in the emerging city of Aktobe in Kazakhstan, and the first internationally-branded hotel in Kecskemet, Hungary with the opening of the Four Points by Sheraton Kecskemet Hotel & Conference Center. The addition of the celebrated King George hotel in Athens to Starwood's Luxury Collection portfolio, marking the brand's eighth hotel in Greece. This represents the largest concentration of Luxury Collection hotels in any European country. W Hotels' first ever ski retreat with the highly-anticipated opening of W Verbier and The Residences at W Verbier, marking the debut of the W brand in Switzerland when it opens in December. Starwood opened five W hotels in Europe since 2008 in some of the world's most exciting and vibrant destinations, including London, Barcelona, St. Petersburg, Istanbul and most recently Paris. Next year, W Hotels will debut in Italy's fashion capital with the new W Milan.