SHANGHAI, China, May 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Starwood Europe, Africa and Middle East’s Senior Management team, including Roeland Vos, President of Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Europe, Africa and Middle East and Paul Tribolet, Senior Vice President, Marketing, will visit China and Japan for a sales mission, in May and June 2008, to meet the key customers and to present the latest updates and initiatives from Europe, Africa and Middle East.
By touching key destinations as Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai, the highlight will be focused on helping drive more brand awareness in the Asian market, and on the illustration of the Starwood growth in Europe, Africa and Middle East, the new openings scheduled for 2008, special events and initiatives.
“The spirit of innovation that characterizes Starwood is driving us to expand our brands footprint and hotel portfolio with some of the world’s best new hotels projects,” said Roeland Vos, President of Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Europe, Africa and Middle East. “With the opening of the first W hotel in Istanbul and 11 more Ws planned in the next two years, we are making another step towards the objective of doubling the amount of hotels in Europe, Africa and Middle East, taking full advantage of the nature of our territories, with many different places to explore and several cultures and traditions to discover.”
W brand, the fastest growing luxury hotel brand in the industry, has in fact announced new hotels in St. Petersburg, Amman, Marrakech, Doha, Athens, Milan, Verbier, Barcelona and two in Dubai. The W Istanbul has officially opened its doors on May 6th while the opening of the W Doha, Qatar, is scheduled for the fall this year.
The Starwood sales mission will start on May 25, 2008 from Tokyo, and will last ten days, during which the Europe, Africa and Middle East team will travel to major markets such as Taipei, Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai hosting customer events in spectacular hotels such as the Westin Tokyo, the Sheraton Hong Kong, the Sheraton Taipei, the St. Regis Beijing and Le Royal Meridien in Shanghai.
“Starwood is globally recognized as a brand focused company. The lifestyle and personality of all our brands reflects costumers’ needs and expectations and their exclusive and consolidated profiles are well known and appreciated by our guests,” said Paul Tribolet, Senior Vice President Sales, Marketing of Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Europe, Africa and Middle East. “During this sales mission we will have the opportunity to showcase our products, ideas, initiatives and offers in very important markets for us, promoting destinations amongst the most fascinating in the world, such as Rome, Venice, Paris, London, Madrid, Vienna, Dubai and many others.”
A special mention is necessary for the stop in Shanghai, at Le Royal Meridien where costumers will have the opportunity to enjoy the special initiatives of that brand with Le Meridien Arrival Experience, welcoming them and the UNLOCK ART Key Card, designed by Michael Lin, a selected artist of the Le Meridien program LM 100. The Card will provide guests with special access to a cultural experience or institution close to the hotel. In addition, customers will enjoy the coffee breaks themed with Le Meridien Coffee Culture in partnership with Illy and a Wine Tasting with Wines of the World.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 900 properties in more than 100 countries and 155,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury Collection(R), W(R), Westin(R), Le Meridien(R), Sheraton(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft(SM), and Element(SM). Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit http://www.starwoodhotels.com .
(Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities regulations. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and involve risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks and uncertainties are presented in detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained or that results and events will not materially differ. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.)
