BRUSSELS—Like a mirror image of North American development, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s Europe Africa and Middle East region is mostly Sheraton hotels.
In the EAME region, there are 94 Sheratons open of its 250 properties total. By location, 17 are in Africa and the Indian Ocean vicinity; 16 are in the Middle East; and the other 61 are in Europe. Starwood’s pipeline consists of 50 hotels in the EAME expected to open by 2012, the company said. Areas of focus are Russia, Turkey, South Africa and the Middle East.
“That brand is really going strong,” said Roeland Vos during a phone interview. The president of the EAME division said the US$6-billion brand enhancement is a combination of investment in existing properties by Starwood and owners and investment in development.
Sheraton previously announced it will open approximately 50 new hotels during three years in 15 countries and territories. The three-year, global brand overhaul includes more than US$4 billion in new hotels, renovations and brand initiatives in North America and another US$2 billion in new hotels internationally. Since 2007, Starwood opened 57 new Sheratons, renovated 100 more and installed 100,000 new beds.
In many markets, Sheraton hotels were the first movers, Vos said. New projects for the brand will include locations such as Prague; Georgia; the island of Rhodes; Tripoli, Libya; and Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
“In some of the new Emirates there is new development going on in destinations where we would be a pioneer in bringing Sheraton … to the market,” he said. “Places like Sharjah, (UAE), and destinations like Saudi Arabia; some might be focused on luxury and some focused in the upper-upscale segment.”
Aloft across the Atlantic
While there will be 50 Aloft select-service properties open in North America by the end of the year, the brand is newer in the EAME region.
The development in new markets required some adaptation, Vos said.
“When we started to go in Middle East we had to look at what uniqueness of the location would do for a new brand like this,” he said. “What we found out when we did customer research was that the concept of having no restaurant except takeaway and bar … it would not work where there is no other activity around the hotel. … So here, there would have to be some (food-and-beverage) offering, so we adapted the size of the lobby space. …. Instead of learning by mistake we learn before going there.”
There are two Aloft properties open internationally--in Abu Dhabi and Brussels. The third international property is scheduled to open in London in 2012.
Vos said with one property open already in the Middle East, it should stimulate more Aloft growth.
“We’re convinced after people see the first one in Abu Dhabi, we will see development interest. Places where the developers are: Abu Dhabi, Doha, Qatar,” he said.
Aloft is also a testing ground for company innovations, Vos said.
“Aloft is really ahead of the game,” he said. “We’re seeing innovations on check-in, using places like Aloft or W as learning grounds. We have started a pilot for check-in via the (Starwood Preferred Guest) card, where you receive an e-mail in the morning and use your card to open the door.”