Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. HOT said today the company
will open 20 new hotels in China in 2013. Having doubled its footprint here in
the last three years, Starwood has 120 hotels open and more than 100 in the
pipeline, making China the company's second largest hotel market behind only
the United States, and its fastest growing. Starwood President and CEO Frits
van Paasschen who is in China this week participating in the Fortune Global
Forum in Chengdu said the company will open one new hotel every 20 days here
and that 70 percent of its pipeline of new hotels under construction and in
development are in second and third tier cities.
“We continue to view China as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our
business,” said van Paasschen. “Whether it's growing our hotel footprint as
part of the country's massive infrastructure development, or aggressively
building our loyalty program in the world's fastest growing domestic and
outbound travel market, we are focused on taking every advantage of our
important first-mover position in China.”
Early Foothold in China Continues to Pay Off; Starwood Poised to Double Luxury
Portfolio
Starwood's presence in China dates back to 1985 when the Sheraton Great Wall
Beijing debuted as the first international hotel in the People's Republic of
China. Today Starwood is the largest high-end hotel operator in China with
more hotels here than competitors Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt combined. In 2012
Starwood opened 25 hotels and signed 36 new hotel deals – a record number of
openings and deals.
With over 170 cities with population over 1 million, the runway to grow in
China continues to be long. Adding to Starwood's long established presence in
China's major cities, the company is focused on expansion in second and third
tier cities. Starwood's upper upscale Sheraton, Westin and Le Meridien brands
continue to be sought after for new central business districts and government
administrative centers in second tier cities. Starwood's Four Points by
Sheraton and Aloft brands fit well in newly developed high-tech, industry and
university parks as well as near high speed railway stations and cities in
early stages of urbanization, in addition to ongoing expansion in established
markets.
Demand for luxury hotels throughout China continues to grow and over the next
few years Starwood will double its luxury footprint here. W Hotels, which just
opened the W Guangzhou earlier this year, will open new flagships in Beijing
and Shanghai as well as hotels in, Suzhou, Changsha and Chengdu. St. Regis,
Starwood's ultra-luxury brand, will build on its well established presence in
China in markets including Beijing, Shenzhen and Sanya with new hotels in
Changsha, Chengdu, Lijiang, Qingshui Bay, Zhuhai and Nanjing while Starwood's
Luxury Collection will expand in Dalian, Hangzhou, Nanning, Xiamen, Nanjing
and Suzhou.
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