Starwood has celebrated the opening of its 200th Westin hotel.
And appropriately, the brand’s newest property is located in Asia Pacific – the region that will drive Westin’s growth in the coming years.
The Westin Chongqing Liberation Square became the milestone 200th hotel, and will soon be joined by three more Westins in China: the Westin Zhujiajian Resort in Zhoushan, Westin Blue Bay Resort in Hainan and the Westin Haikou in Hainan. In total, Starwood expects to open a total of nine new Westin hotels worldwide in 2014 and nearly another 30 by the end of 2016. And almost half of these new hotels will be in Asia Pacific.
“The Westin brand has built a strong foundation and following in established markets over the last decade, and the fact that we have opened our 200th Westin in China is illustrative of the phenomenal demand we are now experiencing in Asia Pacific,” said Simon Turner, Starwood’s president of global development.
“Emerging markets now account for nearly 70% of the Westin development pipeline, fuelled by accelerating demand in China and India, where rising wealth and rapid urbanisation have generated a fierce appetite for strong global brands.”
The opening of the Westin Chongqing marks the brand’s debut in the western metropolis of Chongqing. By year-end, the Westin portfolio in China will pass 20 hotels, and over the next three years, Westin’s presence in the country will increase by nearly 50% with the addition of 11 new hotels.
“As more and more people have the means and desire to travel, particularly from China which is now the world’s largest tourism source, we are seeing increased demand for resort destinations,” Turner added.
“To meet this growing demand, Westin is growing its global resort portfolio, including the opening of the Westin Blue Bay Resort in Qingshui Bay, Hainan – China’s premier resort destination, the Westin Zhujiajian Resort in Zhoushan – China’s largest archipelago and a popular tourist destination, as well as the upcoming openings of the Westin Bekal Resort & Spa in India and the Westin Ubud Resort & Spa in Indonesia.”
In India, Westin plans to grow its portfolio by 50% in the next three years, including the opening of the Westin Delhi NCR Noida next year, and in Indonesia Westin will grow from one to three hotels in the next two years with new openings in Bali and Jakarta. It will also re-enter the Philippines in 2016.
Pictured (from left): Qian Jin, Starwood’s president for Greater China; Brian Povinelli, global brand leader for Westin, & Stephen Ho, Starwood’s president for Asia Pacific, celebrate the landmark
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