Adding even more muscle to its portfolio in China, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today announced that its iconic Sheraton® brand will open five more hotels in China before the end of year. In addition to these new openings, seven new Sheraton hotels and resorts debuted in the region this year in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Zhenjiang, Hainan and Jinzhou. With the addition of these 12 hotels, Sheraton will grow its portfolio to 46 hotels in Greater China by year's end, moving Starwood closer to its goal of operating 100 hotels in Greater China by the end of 2012.
In the next two years, nearly half of all new Starwood hotels slated to open in China will fly the Sheraton flag. This fall, Sheraton will open its first hotel in Hangzhou and Daqing, its second hotel in Xian and two hotels in Changzhou. This surge in new hotel openings will grow the Sheraton brand's footprint not only in China's largest and most established cities, but also in many of the country's fast-growing metropolises and resort destinations.
"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," said Hoyt Harper, global brand leader for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts. "Sheraton is focused on meeting the needs of Chinese travelers within China, as well as across our portfolio of more than 400 hotels around the world."
China will play an outsized role in global travel over the next decade, with 100 million outbound travelers expected by 2015. China also continues to be the richest source of new loyal travelers for Starwood, as evidenced by the 71% jump in Chinese enrollment in Starwood Preferred Guest® last year. Starwood's first-mover advantage in China dates back to 1985 with the landmark debut of The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel in Beijing, the first international branded hotel in China
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