Already operating nearly 50 hotels in the region and with a further 25 scheduled, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is planning on growing its presence in the Middle East by around 50 per cent by 2015.

Scheduled new openings include the Sheraton Sharjah in 2013; five Four Points by Sheraton hotels by the end of 2013; Le Meridien's launch into Qatar in 2013; the debut this year of St. Regis in the area with a hotel in Doha and a further two in Abu Dhabi, plus additional St. Regis properties in Amman and Dubai over the next three years; and the opening of two more Luxury Collection properties in Aqaba, Jordan and Ajman, UAE. The W Hotels brand plans on opening properties in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Amman and Muscat by the end of 2014, while Aloft will enter Saudi Arabia for the first time in 2013 with a hotel in Riyadh.

In a further debut, Element - the company's newest brand - is to launch in Muscat, Oman, one of three Starwood hotels opening in the city. Image: Element, Starwood's newest brand