Investment: Starwood Incorporation to increase Africa investment with 10 new hotels

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide incorporation has announced plans to strengthen its position in Africa by adding 10 new hotels in the next three years as its investment strategies in the hospitality industry on the Continent, Starwood is an international reservation company currently operating 38 hotels in 15 African countries, including: Algeria, Cameroon, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Libya, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Seychelles, South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda. By 2015, Starwood plans to have nearly 50 hotels in Africa with new hotels confirmed to open in Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Senegal and Mauritius. The company already has an existing 38 hotels, representing more than 10,000 rooms under its Sheraton and Le Méridien brands but it is aiming to increase its Africa investment by nearly 30 percent while adding more than 4,200 guest rooms to the continent. Many business analysts believed that this is a step in right direction as it is going to create employment opportunities for the local people on the various locations where these hotels will be added. “From a vastly improving infrastructure, major investments from China, rapid economic growth, rising personal incomes and a growing middle class – we are seeing exciting changes that are driving the African future and we intend to be a part of it,” said Simon Turner, President of Global Development & Acquisition, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and boasts the second-largest economy on the continent, presenting tremendous opportunities for the country to play a key role in our African expansion. With investor-friendly policies in place and on-going economic growth, Nigeria epitomizes the economic ascent of Africa as a development destination,” Mr. Turner added. In addition to the new hotels in the pipeline, Starwood will re-open three of its African hotels in the next 12 months. The Grand Mauritian, which will re-open next year after a major renovation, the Sheraton Cairo following a major renovation as part of Sheraton’s global brand enhancement strategy and the Four Points by Sheraton Tripoli, which closed last year due to the political instability in Libya. Starwood is also looking into entering the key emerging countries like Angola, the Ivory Coast and Ghana in the long time plan to invest more in the continent.