STAMFORD, Conn. — Starwood Hotels & Resorts experienced rapid expansion in 2015, with the addition of 105 hotels and 220 new signed hotel management and franchise agreements, a 26-per-cent increase over the previous year.
One of the company’s biggest developments was Marriott International’s announcement to acquire the Stamford, Conn.-based company. “As we begin 2016 and work towards our merger close with Marriott to become the world’s largest hotel company, we will continue to vigorously compete in the marketplace, deliver value to our owners, delight our guests and grow our brands into new markets around the world,” said Thomas Mangas, CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
In 2015, Four Points by Sheraton continued to lead the development pipeline, while demand for the Aloft brand generated a 65-per-cent increase in signings over the prior year. Deals for brands such as St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels and Sheraton also experienced growth. “This was a remarkable year of record-breaking growth for Starwood Hotels & Resorts with the highest number of both signings and organic openings in any single year in the company’s history,” said Simon Turner, president of Global Development. “We continued to enjoy balanced growth across both mature and emerging markets and across all of our brands, with a notable increase in the number of conversions. Approximately one-third of our openings in 2015 were conversions.”
