Starwood Hotels & Resorts expects to open another 80-100 new-build and conversion hotels in 2010, following the 83 opened and 77 new deals signed in 2009.

Of these new hotels, around 70 per cent will be outside of North America, with the majority in Asia Pacific. One of them is expected to be Starwood's 1,000th property globally. The company plans to double its Chinese portfolio to 100 hotels by 2012, with around 30 hotels opening and representing Starwoods' Luxury Collection, W, The St. Regis, Westin, Le Meridien and Four Points by Sheraton brands.

Starwood has already opened 25 hotels in India and plans to increase its portfolio by about 60 per cent by the end of 2012. Westin is to open two new hotels this year and last year's debut of the Four Points by Sheraton brand in India is to be followed by the launch of the Aloft brand, scheduled to open three hotels in the sub-continent by the end of 2010. Several of the company's brands will be introduced to new markets in 2010, including the London debut of the W brand.

North America is set to see the opening of about 30 hotels in 2010. Among these are Aloft Brooklyn, New York; Element New York-Times Square; Sheraton Tribeca New York; and St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico. Growth in the New York City market will be a key focus in 2010, with Starwood opening six hotels there and introducing its two newest brands - Aloft and Element. Building on the 244 existing Starwood properties in Europe, Africa and Middle East, Starwood and its partners are slated to open around a dozen more in the division, including Europe's first Aloft. The St. Regis Mauritius Resort, scheduled to open in the autumn, is a conversion property and will be the company's fourth hotel on the island.

In Latin America, 2010 will see Starwood introducing its Westin brand to Peru in the shape of the The Westin Libertador, Lima, plus the opening of Peru's second Luxury Collection property, Tambo Del Inka in Urubamba. The Westin brand will also open its fifth hotel in Mexico and its first in Mexico City with The Westin Santa Fe.