Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. expects to have signed in excess of 125 new hotel management and franchise agreements, surpassing last year’s deal signings by approximately 13 per cent, before year-end. The company stated that despite ongoing macroeconomic and geo-political uncertainty, 2012 was a year of the most deal signings since before the global economic crisis.
“Starwood’s nine highly sought-after brands, powerful systems, unmatched portfolio and established local operating teams around the globe set us apart from our competition and position us well for sustained balanced footprint growth in both mature and developing markets,” said Simon Turner, President of Global Development Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “Our agile and creative development approach allows us to adapt our growth strategies based on specific geographic markets or brand needs. 2012 was a year of strong deal momentum for us throughout the world and we are encouraged by a continued high level of developer interest in working with Starwood,” he said.
Frits van Paasschen, President and CEO, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, added, “Rising wealth and a growing middle class around the world are creating new demand for infrastructure, including new hotels, and Starwood is well positioned to take advantage of these trends. Our annual deal signings have increased progressively since 2009. Furthermore, the size of our overall cumulative pipeline and the quality of developers, projects and commercial terms are the finest they have ever been in the company’s history.”