Starwood to move HQ to Dubai for 1 month

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, whose brands include Westin, Sheraton, W Hotels, St Regis, Le Meridien and Aloft, is to relocate its headquarters to Dubai for a month next year in a bid to increase its presence in the Middle East. Senior management, including president and CEO Frits van Paasschen, will set up base in the emirate in 2013 and followed a similar move to Shanghai in June 2011, which saw its presence increase in China. Over 80 percent of the company's 95,000 room pipeline will be built in international markets. Starwood cited enormous growth potential in the Middle East, which is a compelling investment proposition given its rising importance as a global business and leisure hub, according to a report on the Nasdaq website. Dubai was picked because it is currently home to 15 Starwood hotels, the highest number for any city apart from New York. “Management is especially keen on opening properties in Dubai as it connects emerging markets with the developed world,” the report said. Moving the US hotelier’s headquarters to Dubai is part of the group’s bid to open 40 new hotels in the Middle East and North Africa over the next five years. “Despite economic and political uncertainty in parts of the region, Starwood continues to see demand for growth of all of our brands across the Middle East and North Africa,” said president and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Frits van Paasschen. “MENA is key to Starwood’s global expansion strategy, representing our second largest growth market after China.  When you consider that the region has 35 metropolitan areas with a population of over one million, and many with a wealthy middle class, there’s huge long-term potential for internationally-branded luxury and upper-upscale hotels.” In the past 18 months, Starwood has debuted six new hotels throughout MENA and inked deals for 10 additional properties. Recent openings include the first Westin Resort and Spa in Abu Dhabi, the St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort and the St. Regis Doha - the brand’s debut in Qatar. Later this year Starwood will launch its second St. Regis in Abu Dhabi, making it the only city in world with two St. Regis hotels, as well as the Sheraton Medina and Four Points by Sheraton Medina – both in Saudi Arabia. It also announced plans to build a W Hotel in Dubai on The Palm Jumeirah, set to debut in 2016.