Michael Wale
Six months after its
acquisition by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Le
Meridien Hotels & Resorts is ready to go toe-to-toe in the
competitive luxury hotel market.
In March, the brand announced it was
fully integrated into Starwood’s well-oiled sales and marketing
systems. According to Javier Benito, Starwood’s executive vice
president and chief marketing officer, the internal alignment
resulted in $85 million in potential revenue sales leads to Le
Meridien from Starwood’s global sales force.
According to Michael Wale,
London-based senior vice president of operations for Le Meridien,
2007 will kick off an era of global expansion and brand
strengthening.
“It is now time for Le M}ridien to
step out of the middle of the luxury pack, where it has been too
quiet for too long,” said Wale. “It’s going to have an explosion of
growth in the next few years.”
With 120 hotels worldwide, Le
M}ridien now has 85 projects on the books. In the next 18 months
alone, the brand will open properties in Croatia; Egypt; Malta;
Pakistan; Shanghai, China; and Thailand.
In addition, Wale noted, “We are under-represented in North
America, and we want to build the same brand awareness here that we
already have in Europe and Asia. After all, it is the European
heritage of Le M}ridien that differentiates us from all the other
Starwood chains.”
n CHERYL-ANNE STURKEN