STARWOOD HOTELS AND RESORTS HAVE DUMPED ITS OLD HEADQUARTERS IN STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT (THE BASTION OF HIGH CLASS AMERICA) FOR FREE-WHEELING DUBAI! OF COURSE STAMFORD IS CONSIDERED A BACKWATER SHACK INHABITED BY HILLBILLIES COMPARED TO GLITTERING DUBAI BUT STILL, WHY NOT KUALA LUMPUR?
Kuala Lumpur is the world's most strategic city with an airport that is either the best on this planet or second best!
Anyway, stranger things have happened!
STARWOOD HOTELS AND RESORTS
RELOCATES GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS TO DUBAI FOR MONTH-LONG IMMERSION
CEO and Senior Leadership Team to Conduct Day-To-Day
Business Out of Dubai,
The New Crossroads of Global Travel
Following Insightful Relocation to China in 2011, Move
to UAE Will Further Strengthen Starwood’s Global Vantage and Bring Company
Closer to Key Growth Markets
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:
HOT) today announced the beginning of a month-long relocation of its global
headquarters from Stamford, CT to Dubai. From now until April 5th,
Starwood President & CEO Frits van Paasschen and the company’s top
executives will conduct day-to-day business from Dubai, an increasingly
important global destination and travel hub. Following the company’s
successful relocation to China in June 2011, this second leadership move
reflects Starwood’s innovative management approach to cultivating a more global
culture by understanding, appreciating and leveraging different societal
perspectives and approaches to business and hospitality.
“With 80 percent of Starwood’s pipeline coming from
rapidly growing markets, it is simply not possible to lead a truly global
business from a boardroom in Connecticut,” said van Paasschen. “Rising
wealth and ever greater global connectivity are creating a once-in-a-lifetime
growth opportunity for our business – by fueling new demand, changing travel patterns,
and entirely new travel markets. Dubai epitomizes this changing face of
travel, and we expect this relocation will deepen our relationships with
partners, associates and customers. Just as with our one-month relocation
to China in 2011, our time in-market will spark new ideas that will fortify our
position as the most global high-end hotel company.”
During the course of the relocation, more than 200
Starwood executives and GMs from the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America will
travel to Dubai as the company runs day-to-day operations almost 7,000 miles
and a nine-hour time zone away from its usual HQ outside New York City.
The team will meet with associates, customers, owners and prospective
developers in the UAE and also take advantage of Dubai’s location for business
travel to destinations including Mumbai, Addis Ababa, Jeddah, Dushanbe and
Kuwait.
To visually narrate the month’s journey, Starwood
today debuted Tumblr and Instagram accounts. Please follow the relocation
at http://starwoodhotels.tumblr.com/
and http://instagram.com/starwoodbuzz
Dubai Illustrative of “New
Golden Age of Travel”
Dubai is a natural choice for Starwood’s second month-long
senior leadership relocation as the city is situated eight hours from
two-thirds of the world’s population and is a global gateway at the crossroads
of East and West and the developed and rapidly growing economies. The
Middle East continues to evolve as an international business and leisure travel
hub with Dubai now home to many multinational corporations, consultants, banks
and university campuses. In 2012, Dubai International Airport counted
approximately 58 million visitors, a number which is expected to grow at annual
rates above ten percent, and the airport is expected to be the world’s largest
in terms of international passenger traffic by 2015.
“Globalization is accelerating new trade patterns,
capital flows and wealth creation: this translates to more people from
more places traveling to more destinations than ever before,” said van
Paasschen. “We are on the cusp of a new Golden Age of Travel, and Dubai
is at the epicenter of this sea change.”
Along with changing travel patterns, Starwood has seen
a significant increase in demand for luxury in all corners of the world,
including the Middle East. As the most global high-end hotel company with
nearly twice as many rooms as Marriott or Hilton in emerging markets, Starwood
is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the record number of people entering
the ranks of the very wealthy and developing a taste for luxury.
With the opening of W Doha in 2009, Starwood
introduced a new luxury hotel category in the Middle East, and plans are
underway to open new W hotels in Amman, Muscat, and Abu Dhabi as well as two W
properties in Dubai. Following the W brand’s debut, Starwood introduced
its St. Regis brand into the Middle East with the 2011 opening of The St. Regis
Saadiyat Island Resort (Abu Dhabi). St. Regis has since opened in Doha and will
this year unveil a second St. Regis hotel in Abu Dhabi, located on the
Corniche. Future St. Regis openings in the region include The St. Regis
Cairo, The St. Regis Amman, and The St. Regis Dubai. Starwood also continues to
grow its Luxury Collection brand in the UAE and will debut in the Emirate of
Ajman in 2014.
Diverse Viewpoints Needed to
Succeed Globally
Starwood’s roots in the Middle East date back nearly
50 years. This first-mover advantage has put Starwood in a leadership
position in the region, with 45 hotels and another 30 under development. In
Dubai alone, Starwood has 14 hotels and another six in the pipeline. That
makes Dubai Starwood’s second largest market in the world behind New York City.
The company’s Middle East footprint is set to grow by about 70 percent over the
next five years thanks to Starwood’s brand strength, local know-how and
long-standing relationships.
“Working day-to-day in a different market allows you
to see the world through a different lens,” said van Paasschen. “The
insights that come from experiences like this move make us more agile in
today’s rapidly changing world. As a company, we make better and faster
decisions thanks to the diverse viewpoints of our leaders and associates.
These trips allow us to listen firsthand to what our associates around the
world have to say.”
# # #
About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one
of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,134 properties
in nearly 100 countries and 171,000 employees at its owned and managed
properties. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of
hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned
brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®,
Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, and ElementSM. The Company boasts
one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG),
allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and
flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood also owns Starwood Vacation
Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through
villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands. For more
information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
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