Jetsettersblog

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc and its Sheraton brand will open seven more hotels in China before the end of September. News of these openings coincides with a month-long relocation of Starwood’s global headquarters to Shanghai. In the next two years, nearly half of all new Starwood hotels slated to open in China will fly the Sheraton flag. This summer, Sheraton will open its second hotel in Beijing, its second in Xian, and its first in Chongqing, Yantai, Guangzhou, Zhenjiang, Wanning and Hangzhou. With the addition of these hotels, Sheraton will grow its portfolio to 42 hotels in China by year’s end, moving Starwood closer to its goal of operating 100 hotels in China by the end of 2012.

Sheraton expects China to 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 percent 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.

The 491-room Sheraton Xian North City Hotel will be the second Sheraton in Xian. The 441-room Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel will open on Beijing’s north Third Ring Road and will be the second Sheraton in Beijing, where the brand first debuted more than 25 years ago. The 289-room Sheraton Zhenjiang Hotel will be the first Sheraton in Zhenjiang. The 307-room Sheraton Shenzhou Peninsula Resort-Wanning on Hainan Island to the southeast of Wanning City will feature a Shine Spa. The 383-room Sheraton Hangzhou Wetland Park Resort will be located near Hefang Street, a pedestrian street lined with shops and teahouses, museums and numerous corporate offices. The 445-room Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel will be located in the Tianhe central business district as part of Tee Mall, the leading commercial and shopping complex in the city. The 100-room Sheraton Guangzhou Huadu Resort will open in Beixin Town in the northeastern part of Huadu city and will sit at the Li Zui Reservoir, surrounded by mountains and lakes.