Sheraton Ready to Open 20 Hotels in 2012
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) has announced that its global brand Sheraton Hotels will be a key force in the company’s growth in 2012 with the opening of 20 new hotels.
Sheraton will also widen Starwood’s lead as the largest global hotel operator in China, with 12 new Sheraton hotels slated to open across this fast-growing market by year’s end driven by strong demand in second and third tier cities. In North America and Europe, Sheraton expects to grow its portfolio by capturing more than its fair share of conversion opportunities.
[ Also Read: When Travelers Select World’s Best Hotels ]“Sheraton’s impressive global pipeline is being fueled by phenomenal demand in China and India as well as by a surge in high-quality conversions in developed markets,” said Simon Turner, president of Global Development for Starwood.
“In Europe, there is a large landscape of independent hotels ripe for flags, and we’re also keenly focused on an expected uptick in portfolio transaction activity in North America which should lead to even more conversion opportunities.”
[ Also Read: Jaipur Marriott in India’s Royal State of Rajasthan ]The leading brand will mark a milestone later this year with the opening of the nearly 4,000-room Sheraton Macao, which is said to be the largest Sheraton, as well as the largest Starwood hotel in the world.
Offering three restaurants with poolside cafes, 140,000 square feet of meeting space and two outdoor swimming pools, Sheraton Macao is an addition to Cotai Strip, also known as the “Las Vegas of Asia.”
[ Also Read: World’s Most Romantic Hotels Revealed ]Sheraton will expand its global resorts portfolio in 2012 with the opening of eight new resorts in sought-after locations including Bali, Indonesia. The development boom in China has fueled a surge of new Sheraton resort openings throughout China in locations like Huzhou, Changbaishan and Xiangshan. Sheraton will also open a new flagship resort in Bali, Indonesia and its second resort in Huizhou.
[ Also Read: World’s Tallest Hotel to Open in Dubai ]Adding to its current portfolio of 18 hotels in the Middle East, Sheraton will open its fourth hotel in Saudi Arabia in 2012 – Sheraton Medina Hotel. That opening will be followed by a new Sheraton in Dubai in 2013 and two hotels in Pakistan in 2014.
Another hot growth market is Eastern Europe, where Sheraton will make its debut in the Ukraine in 2013 with the upcoming opening of Sheraton Kiev Olympiysky Hotel followed by the brand’s second hotel in Russia: Sheraton Rostov-On-Don Hotel.
