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Starwood Plans to Expand MENA Footprint in Next Five Years

5/7/2012

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is strengthening its position in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with a pipeline of 40 new hotels. This growth represents an increase of nearly 60% over the next five years. In the past 18 months, Starwood has debuted six new hotels throughout MENA and momentum continues in the region where the company has recently inked deals for 10 additional hotels.

Starwood is focused on expansion in developing markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Algeria as well as key emerging markets including Iraq, Tajikistan, and Pakistan. As part of this strategy, Starwood has recently confirmed 10 hotel projects in the region including:

- Four new hotels in Dubai, including three hotels on Sheik Zayed Road under the company’s St. Regis, W Hotels and Westin brands and a second W Hotel in Dubai on The Palm Jumeirah. Together, these four properties will add nearly 1,900 rooms to Dubai by 2017.

- The launch of the Aloft brand in the emirate of Sharjah, where the company will open a 270-room Aloft hotel in 2015, following the successful debut of Aloft Abu Dhabi in 2009. Starwood will mark its official debut in Sharjah next year with the opening of a Sheraton and a Four Points by Sheraton hotel.

- The entry of Starwood into Tajikistan with the opening of a new Sheraton hotel in the country’s capital city of Dushanbe.

- The re-entry of Starwood into Iraq with the signing of a new Sheraton hotel in Erbil. The 260-room Sheraton Erbil marks Starwood’s return to the country after 20 years and will be complemented by the recently signed 250-room Four Points by Sheraton Erbil which is due to open in 2015.

- Starwood’s fifth hotel in Algeria with the new Sheraton Annaba Hotel, where the company currently operates three hotels. Starwood will open a Four Points by Sheraton in Oran in 2014, introducing the brand to the country.

Starwood has marked a number of key milestones in MENA over the past 18 months, including the launch of its St. Regis brand in Abu Dhabi, the debut of Le Méridien in Algeria, and the first Westin hotel in Abu Dhabi.

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