Starwood will unveil three new conversions in 2014 following last year’s successful conversions of Sheraton Dubai Mall of the Emirates and Four Points by Sheraton Riyadh Khaldia.
Conversion projects are part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide ambitious growth plans to increase its portfolio in the region by 75% with 35 hotels to open in the next three years.
Michael Wale, president for Europe, Africa & Middle East for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide described the conversions route as “an interesting new business line”. He commented: “There’s the new build scenario that takes a lot of time and then there’s conversion which is pretty quick.”
Opening in July, The Westin Bahrain City Centre and Le Méridien Bahrain City Centre will mark the debut of both brands in Bahrain. Grand Hills, a Luxury Collection Resort, Broumana will be the first Luxury Collection hotel in Lebanon when it opens in November after an extensive renovation.
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Wale commented: “There’s obviously a lot of growth in this part of the world and we get more than our fair share. After the Sheraton Mall of the Emirates conversion, our owner Al-Futtaim group came to us and said they’d like to take a look at these two hotels in Bahrain and so we’re converting those and opening them on July 1 so that will give us a Westin and a Sheraton in Bahrain.”
Wale added that conversion “doesn’t often happen in this part of the world” and that the main challenge is “bringing value-add”. He commented: “It’s about bringing your brand values and having the expertise. Because we have such breadth and depth of operating experience in the Middle East it gives us the opportunity to do so."
On the Grand Hills Broumana conversion in Lebanon, Guido de Wilde, senior vice president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide said: “It’s owner operated and it will be converted to a Luxury Collection Hotel in November after an extensive renovation that’s taking place now. It’s just outside Beirut so it’s a fantastic location.”
The Lebanon project will be the fifth Starwood conversion in the region within a year and half.
Starwood will open 35 hotel in the Middle East in the next three years, expanding its portfolio to over 80 hotels.
The UAE is the largest growth market for the company in the Middle East with plans to have more than 30 Starwood hotels by 2017.
Additionally, Starwood currently has 10 hotels in Saudi Arabia with another eight properties in the pipeline. Upcoming openings in the Kingdom include three new hotels in Makkah – Sheraton, Westin and Four Points by Sheraton – adding nearly 1,500 rooms to the Holy City.
Continuing to leverage its first-mover advantage with the Sheraton brand, Starwood will re-enter Iraq after two decades with the milestone opening of Sheraton Dohuk in October. Starwood will also open three hotels in Erbil under its Sheraton, Aloft and Four Points by Sheraton brands by 2017.
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