Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide plans to open more than 40 new hotels and resorts across Europe in the next five years.
This will expand the company’s portfolio by almost 30% with openings in both fast-growing and established markets.
Five new hotels are due to open in Turkey this year, including The St. Regis Istanbul which opened on March 1, bringing its portfolio to 15 hotels across seven brands.
Starwood described its three mid-market brands, Aloft, Four Points by Sheraton and Element, as seeing “unprecedented growth momentum” globally.
The portfolio in Europe is poised to exceed 50% of Starwood’s development pipeline with more than 15 new openings expected across the three brands by the end of 2017.
Aloft will more than double its portfolio in Europe with hotels opening in St. Petersburg and London over the next two years, in addition to two hotels in Germany, opening this summer.
Four Points by Sheraton, Starwood’s fastest growing brand, will also expand in emerging markets with eight openings planned in Turkey and Russia by 2017.
The eco-centric Element brand, introduced to Europe with the opening of Element Frankfurt Airport Hotel last year, will debut in Amsterdam before the end of the year, and become part of an Aloft and Element dual-hotel development in the Tobacco Dock area of east London in 2017.
Global development president Simon Turner said: “2014 was a record year of deal signings for Starwood in Europe with consistent, sustainable high-quality portfolio growth in key European markets and sought-after destinations.
“Our growth momentum continues this year with 14 hotels on track to open across Europe and strong owner interest in our nine lifestyle brands, backed by our loyalty program, the collective strength of our global platform and our highly-experienced, local teams.”
The company’s Europe, Africa & Middle East president Michael Wale added: “The record growth experienced in the last five years in the mid-market segment has set the stage for 2015, where we will see a vigorous expansion in mature and emerging markets.”