Starwood growth momentum continues

The year 2013 will be one of expansion for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc, which is planning to open a number of new hotels and sign more hotel management agreements, two-thirds of which will be located in fast-growing markets, including China.

Starwood is looking to maintain the momentum it saw last year, when the company signed more deals than it has in any year since the global economic crisis began. In 2012, the company signed 131 new hotel management and franchise agreements, up 17 percent from 2011, including 31 conversions, 12 of which opened during 2012.

"Rising wealth, increasingly global businesses and a digitally connected world are creating unprecedented demand for travel and new travel patterns, and we continue to be as bullish as ever about our long-term growth," said Frits van Paasschen, Starwood's president and CEO.