Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. HOT today announced it opened
74 new hotels in 2014, representing approximately 15,000 rooms in 26
countries. The company also signed 175 new hotel management and franchise
agreements in 2014, a 15% increase over the prior year, marking the fifth
consecutive year of increased signings and the most new deals in one year
since 2007. Starwood anticipates another year of solid growth in both mature
and emerging markets in 2015, fueled by hotel openings and high-quality deal
signings.
“With more than 1,200 hotels in 100 countries, we're on the frontlines of
global change and continue to see increasing demand for innovative, design-led
brands, playing to Starwood's strength,” said Frits van Paasschen, President
and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. “Our nine lifestyle
brands continue to attract owners as does our loyalty program, Starwood
Preferred Guest®, which brings high-value guests to our hotels from around the
world, driving more than half of our occupancy on any given night.”
Hotel Opening Momentum Continues
Building on its strong signing year, Starwood continues to grow in all corners
of the world across all of the segments where it operates with plans to reach
the following milestones in 2015:
* 300^th hotel in Asia Pacific and China
* 150^th hotel in China (with all nine brands represented)
* 90^th hotel in Africa and the Middle East
* 175^th Luxury hotel
* 750^th Upper Upscale hotel
* 300^th Mid-Market hotel
“Our balanced growth approach continued in 2014 with consistent, organic
signings across all nine of our brands,” said Simon Turner, President of
Global Development for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. “Looking
ahead, emerging markets remain a focus for us, but recovering economic
conditions and increased availability of financing have also led to strong
growth in North America and Europe.”
Turner continued: “North America accounted for more than one third of our
signings last year, and the availability of new construction lending resulted
in a more than 50% increase in new-build hotel signings over the previous
year. Globally, we renewed or extended 76 of our existing agreements with
owners in 2014, underscoring the strength of our brands, loyalty program,
operating teams, and systems. We remain focused on working with the right
partners, on the right properties, in the right places, and our agile
development approach allows us to adapt our growth strategies based on
specific geographies and brand needs for both new development and conversion
projects either managed or franchised.”
Starwood Widens its Lead in Luxury
With one of the fastest growing luxury portfolios under its St. Regis, The
Luxury Collection and W brands, Starwood is lengthening its lead in luxury
hospitality. Building on its base of more than 170 of the world's most
beautiful and iconic hotel experiences, Starwood expects to open more than 25
luxury hotels over the next two years adding to the 12 new luxury hotels which
debuted last year. This pace continues to accelerate to meet increasing demand
for luxury in all corners of the world.
In 2014, W Bogota marked the brand's entry into Colombia, while The Luxury
Collection brand added seven new hotels to its portfolio including La Posada
de Santa Fe in New Mexico, Excelsior Hotel Gallia in Milan and The Castle
Hotel in Dalian, China. In 2015, Starwood is on track to add more than 10
luxury hotels to its portfolio, including St. Regis hotels in Istanbul, Macao,
Dubai and Mumbai, The Luxury Collection properties in Nanjing, China; San
Antonio, Texas; and Broumana, Lebanon, and W openings in Amsterdam,
Netherlands and Goa, India.
Demand Accelerates for Upper Upscale Brands
Starwood opened 27 hotels across its Sheraton, Le Méridien and Westin brands
last year, with over 150 under active development. The iconic Sheraton brand,
on track to open its 500^th hotel in 2016, continues to serve as a growth
leader for Starwood and pave the way for the further development of all of
Starwood's brands in fast growing markets. This year, the brand will debut in
Samoa and Romania and re-enter Iraq, following last year's launch in
Tajikistan. Sheraton accounts for nearly 40% of all Starwood hotels in Asia
Pacific and is leading Starwood's growth in Africa, where the brand will open
six more hotels by 2018.
Le Méridien opened flagship hotels in Chicago – Oakbrook, Bahrain, and Bangkok
in 2014, and signed 18 new deals, a meaningful increase over the previous
year. Building on this momentum, in 2015, the brand will open more new hotels
than in any other year since Starwood acquired Le Méridien in 2005. The brand
continues to expand in established markets primarily through conversions,
while also extending its reach in emerging markets, with openings planned for
India, Bangladesh and Bhutan this year.
Westin opened its 200^th hotel worldwide in 2014 and demand continues to rise
driven in part by the phenomenal success of its distinctive wellness
positioning. In 2015, Westin will open its 125^th hotel in North America and
its 50^th hotel in Asia. The brand will also debut in Qatar with the opening
of The Westin Doha Hotel & Spa – the brand's fourth hotel in the Middle East.
Mid-Market Brands Drive Pipeline Growth
Starwood's mid-market segment continues to gain considerable momentum, with 35
openings and 100 new deals signed in 2014 across the Four Points by Sheraton,
Aloft and Element brands. The segment accounts for approximately 40% of
Starwood's global growth pipeline and will comprise nearly half of the
company's new hotel openings in 2015, amid rising demand for strong global
brands at an affordable price point in both major metro and secondary markets
around the world.
Four Points by Sheraton signed 50 new hotel deals in 2014, the most in company
history, and will surpass 200 hotels in 2015, with more than 25 planned hotel
openings this year. The ‘best for business' Four Points brand boasts
Starwood's second largest and fastest growing development pipeline, fueled by
its widespread, global appeal to guests and flexible development options.
Aloft Hotels signed 31 new deals in 2014, the most signings in one year since
2008. Designed for the next generation of travelers, Aloft will cross the
100^th hotel milestone in 2015 and expand its portfolio in Greater China to
ten hotels by year end. Aloft will also enter numerous new markets this year,
including both Munich and Stuttgart, Germany.
Starwood's eco brand, Element Hotels, signed 19 deals in 2014 and is on track
to triple its portfolio by 2017. On the heels of opening its first hotel
outside of North America in Frankfurt, Germany, Element will open its first
hotel in China in 2015 followed by new hotels in London, Amsterdam, Boston and
Philadelphia, signifying the global appeal of this brand.
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