Sheraton and Le Méridien, two brands owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts, each anticipate record years in terms of the number of hotel openings. Starwood plans to open 35 new Sheraton properties over the next 12 months, including debuts in Samoa, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, and a return to Iraq. Nearly half of the new openings will happen in China; the brand anticipates opening approximately one hotel every three weeks in that country. New Chinese markets will include Wuhan, Shaoxing, Nanching, Zhengzhou and Qingdao, while Beijing gets its third Sheraton and Shanghai its fifth. Twenty-three of the 35 Sheraton openings will be in the Asia Pacific region, and seven are planned for the Middle East.
The Le Méridien brand expects unprecedented growth of its own, with 11 openings planned for the next 12 months. Conversion and adaptive reuse projects have been the main components of the brand's growth to date. Five of the anticipated new hotels will be in the U.S., which will triple the flag's portfolio in the Americas. Those properties will be in Tampa, Fla.; Chicago; Charlotte, N.C.; Indianapolis, and New Orleans. New properties also will debut in Thailand, India, Bhutan and China.