After coming out of one of the hotel industry's worst ever crises, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc is running four years behind its schedule of tripling the footprint of its "W" luxury brand.
The company had said in November 2009 that it would roughly triple the number of its W hotels -- there were 26 at that time -- by 2011. At the end of 2010, there were 38 Ws worldwide.
"Given the crisis happened and things slowed down, I can see us getting to 60 Ws by 2013, and 70 by maybe 2014-2015," Chief Financial Officer Vasant Prabhu told Reuters in an interview at the company's new Sheraton property in Bangalore late Friday.
Starwood is known for its emphasis on branding and established that reputation in part through its success with W, W the high-design brand the company works to identify most closely with fashion and music.
The W brand launched the trend of boutique-style hotel brands among big chains like Marriott International Inc and Hyatt Hotels Corp.
The head of its W and Le Meridien brands, Eva Ziegler, is leaving the company early next year and the company is not averse to bringing in someone from outside the industry for the job, Prabhu said.
Since the crisis, Starwood has seen strong performance from its luxury brands such as W and its top luxury brand, St. Regis. Luxury hotels have outperformed the broader US hotel industry, after tumbling the most in 2009.
"In 2009 and part of 2010, in most parts of the developed world, things in the hotel industry basically stopped. Even in the developing world, things slowed down," said Prabhu.
But companies like Starwood and Marriott are keen on tapping into the opportunity presented by an emerging middle class in fast-growing countries like India and China.
In India -- which Prabhu believes is a very "under-hoteled" market -- the company franchises its Sheraton, Aloft, Four Points by Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien and the Luxury Collection.
Prabhu said Starwood was in active discussions with developers related to W and St. Regis, and expects to have two deals signed for each brand by the end of the year.
The company has already announced a deal to open its first hotel under the W brand in Mumbai by 2015.
"I can see India having a dozen St. Regis' over the longer term. Probably, about five over the next 3-5 years," he said.
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/starwood-now-sees-w-tripling-footprint-by-2015-cfo_558782.html
The company had said in November 2009 that it would roughly triple the number of its W hotels -- there were 26 at that time -- by 2011. At the end of 2010, there were 38 Ws worldwide.
"Given the crisis happened and things slowed down, I can see us getting to 60 Ws by 2013, and 70 by maybe 2014-2015," Chief Financial Officer Vasant Prabhu told Reuters in an interview at the company's new Sheraton property in Bangalore late Friday.
Starwood is known for its emphasis on branding and established that reputation in part through its success with W, W the high-design brand the company works to identify most closely with fashion and music.
The W brand launched the trend of boutique-style hotel brands among big chains like Marriott International Inc and Hyatt Hotels Corp.
The head of its W and Le Meridien brands, Eva Ziegler, is leaving the company early next year and the company is not averse to bringing in someone from outside the industry for the job, Prabhu said.
Since the crisis, Starwood has seen strong performance from its luxury brands such as W and its top luxury brand, St. Regis. Luxury hotels have outperformed the broader US hotel industry, after tumbling the most in 2009.
"In 2009 and part of 2010, in most parts of the developed world, things in the hotel industry basically stopped. Even in the developing world, things slowed down," said Prabhu.
But companies like Starwood and Marriott are keen on tapping into the opportunity presented by an emerging middle class in fast-growing countries like India and China.
In India -- which Prabhu believes is a very "under-hoteled" market -- the company franchises its Sheraton, Aloft, Four Points by Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien and the Luxury Collection.
Prabhu said Starwood was in active discussions with developers related to W and St. Regis, and expects to have two deals signed for each brand by the end of the year.
The company has already announced a deal to open its first hotel under the W brand in Mumbai by 2015.
"I can see India having a dozen St. Regis' over the longer term. Probably, about five over the next 3-5 years," he said.
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/starwood-now-sees-w-tripling-footprint-by-2015-cfo_558782.html