Starwood Taiwan:To Expand,Add 4-Star Hotels For China Tourists
27 May 2009 - 6:39PM
Dow Jones News
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) expects to
include four-star hotels in its portfolio of mainly five-star
properties in Taiwan and expand into second-tier cities on the
island in the coming years to meet demand from Chinese tourists,
the head of the company's Taiwan operation said Wednesday.
"We're looking for (local) entrepreneurs and they're looking for
us," said Josef Dolp, the Taiwan managing director of Starwood Asia
Pacific Hotels & Resorts, referring to the company's expansion
plans.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which operates hotels under the W
Hotels, Westin, Le Meridien, St. Regis and Sheraton brands, will
increase the number of rooms under management in Taiwan to 2,000 at
nine hotels by 2011, said Dolp.
It now has three hotels and 1,102 rooms under management in
Taiwan - Sheraton, Westin and Four Points by Sheraton.
"An undersupply of rooms is the main reason for the expansion,"
said Dolp.
Almost all of the nine hotels will be five-star hotels, but an
influx of Chinese tourists will spur demand for four-star hotels as
well, he said.
"The Starwood hotels are well known in China, where brand
loyalty is strong, and Taiwanese entrepreneurs could capitalize on
that, (using those brands to attract) Chinese tourists," said
Dolp.
After Taiwan and China expanded direct cross-strait charter
flights to weekdays from weekends in late 2008, the number of
Chinese visiting the island had risen to 4,000 a day by March from
500 a day in December, said Zhang Yun, Taiwan manager of Chinese
flag carrier Air China Ltd.
Taiwan expects the number of tourists from China to rise to
800,000-900,000 this year from 35,114 in 2008, Primasia Securities
said in a note Wednesday.
-By Alex Pevzner, Dow Jones Newswires; 8862-2502-2557;
alex.pevzner@dowjones.com