Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has started a month-long relocation of its global headquarters from Stamford, Connecticut, to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The move follows the company’s successful month-long relocation to China in June 2011.
From now until April 5, more than 200 Starwood executives and GMs from the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America will travel to Dubai. The team will meet with associates, customers, owners and prospective developers in the UAE and also take advantage of Dubai’s location for business travel to destinations including Mumbai, Addis Ababa, Jeddah, Dushanbe and Kuwait.
“With 80% of Starwood’s pipeline coming from rapidly growing markets, it is simply not possible to lead a truly global business from a boardroom in Connecticut,” said Starwood President and CEO Frits van Paasschen. “Dubai epitomizes this changing face of travel, and we expect this relocation will deepen our relationships with partners, associates and customers.”
Starwood also has debuted Tumblr and Instagram accounts to visually narrate the month’s journey.