WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK The Sheraton brand continues to lead Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s global growth, with the legacy brand scheduled to open 25 properties in 2011, including 16 in China.
Sheraton Hotels & Resorts represents 30% of Starwood’s total development pipeline. “Sheraton is the number one contributor to Starwood’s global growth and has given us a significant lead in many fast-developing markets,” saysSimon Turner, president of global development for Starwood. “In China, which is now Starwood’s second largest market after North America, Sheraton is expanding its presence in the country’s biggest cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, as well as in rapidly developing urban centers including Guangzhou, Wanning and Hangzhou. The strength of Sheraton is also driving meaningful growth for sister brand Four Points by Sheraton, which is set to double its footprint in China over the next three years.”
This year, Sheraton will open its fourth hotel in Shanghai, its second in Beijing and its first two hotels in Guangzhou. With the addition of 16 new hotels in 2011, Sheraton will increase its portfolio in China to 53 by year’s end. The iconic hotel brand also accounts for 50% of the Starwood hotels under development in China, moving Starwood closer to its goal of operating 100 hotels in China by the end of 2012.
“Sheraton has leveraged its first-mover advantage in China, where we are now one of the country’s strongest global brands and the engine of Starwood’s growth,” says Hoyt Harper, global brand leader for Sheraton. “Our recent brand-wide revitalization and significant investment in new hotel development has also fueled our expansion in many other key markets, including India, Japan and South Korea.”
Sheraton will debut in Bangalore this year, helping to widen Starwood’s lead as the largest operator of 5-star hotels in India. Also this year, Sheraton will open its first hotel in Hiroshima, its second in Seoul and its second in Montréal. Within more mature markets like North America, the brand expects to continue to fuel its growth through conversion opportunities.
Starwood’s largest brand, Sheraton boasts a current portfolio of more than 400 hotels in 72 countries and 92% awareness among business travelers—higher than all other global hotel brands. Following the completion of its US$6 billion brand-wide revitalization, Sheraton is investing another US$5 billion to add more than 50 new hotels to its portfolio by the end of 2013.