“Eastern and Central Europe are particularly fertile ground for growth, primarily with new-build properties, while we see numerous ongoing conversion opportunities in established markets throughout Europe,” said Simon Turner, President of Global Development for Starwood.
Starwood’s growth in Europe is being accelerated by a focus on key fast-growing markets in the East. These include Russia, Ukraine and Turkey. In Russia and Ukraine Starwood will double its portfolio by 2014 with openings in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, Perm and Kiev. In Turkey, Starwood is expanding its pipeline aggressively with four new hotels opening in a three-year period, including the recent debut of Le Meridien Istanbul Etiler, marking the brand’s entrance into the country. With that, Starwood will operate 10 hotels in Turkey under five of its distinct brands.
Globally, Starwood plans to open 80 new hotels in 2012, building on a year of record growth with 112 new hotel deals in 2011, the highest number since before the global economic crisis.