At the end of last year, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced its plans to put more emphasis on China and India, starting with the opening of three new Sheraton Hotels & Resorts before the end of January 2011.

With a family of brands under its umbrella, including St. Region, Aloft, Elemente and Le Méridien, Starwood isn't stopping with just Sheraton.

With dozens of new hotels planned for opening in the region this year, I sat down with Simon Turner, president of global development for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, to get learn his plans for introducing the well-known U.S. brand into the Asia market.

Melanie Nayer: Starwood has a few dozen brands under its portfolio. How do you plan to introduce these brands/hotels into Asia? Will the locations be remote or located in more populated areas?

Simon Turner: Our first Sheraton opened in Hong Kong in 1974 and in India in 1973.  Today, eight out of our nine brands operate in China, which is now our second largest market in the world, behind only the United States. Starwood is not only expanding its presence in China's most established cities, but we're also rapidly growing our footprint in the country's emerging urban markets.

We have new hotels planned in Jiangyin and Huzhou. The Westin brand is already a market leader in Beijing and Shanghai.  Even as a relatively new player in international markets, Westin is opening strong right out of the gate and is outperforming hotel brands in its category.

Le Méridien currently has hotels in Qingdao, Chongqing, Xiamen, Shanghai, Shimei Bay, Sheshan and Hong Kong and has several more in its pipeline.  W Hotels made its debut in China with the W Hong Kong in 2008, and this year we will open new hotels doors in Taipei and Guangzhou.

Our ultra-luxury brand, St. Regis has become a favorite for visiting heads of state and celebrities with flagship hotels in Beijing and Shanghai. St. Regis is poised to more than triple its presence in China in the next several years.  We recently opened our first St. Regis resort in Tibet – The St. Regis Lhasa Resort.  The Luxury Collection recently made its landmark entry in China with the opening of The Astor Hotel in Tianjin.

One of our newest brands, Aloft, which offers style, design and high tech touches at an affordable price, opened its first hotel in Beijing in 2008, and continues to make inroads with seven new hotels on the way.

Our ninth and newest brand, Element, is an extended stay product that is LEED certified/energy efficient with seven open in the United States.  As we look to develop this brand globally, we see great opportunity in China.

Nayer: How developed is the Asia market for Starwood hotels - what do you see are the challenges to opening in Asia, and what are the benefits?

Turner: Asia is leading Starwood's global growth and we expect that trend to continue. There is plenty of room for further hotel development, and plenty of benefits to expanding our brands not only in China, but also across Asia Pacific in fast-growing markets such as India, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. The region is ripe for further infrastructure development and the rising middle class has a strong appetite for our popular global brands, which are fast becoming local favorites.

Nayer: What are Starwood's plans for expansion and development over time in Asia? How many hotels can we expect this year, in 5 years, 10 years, etc.?

Turner: We'll open 40 new hotels in Asia Pacific this year, resulting in a portfolio of over 220 hotels in the region by year end. More than half of our new hotels opening in Asia Pacific are slated for Greater China, where we expect to increase our current portfolio from 70 to over 115 hotels by 2012. 

Demand continues to outpace supply in China, and there is still a long runway for growth especially when you consider that China has 171 cities with populations of more than one million, most of which do not yet have a major international branded hotel.  It is not hard to imagine that we will ultimately have as many hotels in China as we do in the United States, where we have more than 450.

Nayer: How do you think Asia travelers will compare to Canadian/US travelers? Are the expectations the same/different? How?

Turner: Starwood is working on multiple fronts to ensure Chinese travelers feel as at home in our hotels abroad as they do at our hotels in greater China.  For example, we are training our associates on Chinese customs, hiring native speaking associates, customizing our food and beverage offerings – things as simple, yet meaningful, as putting tea kettles in our rooms. 

Nayer: Why Asia? What do you see are the benefits of tourism in the Asia market?

Turner: Starwood has focused significant resources on the world's fastest growing emerging markets, which are expected to generate 70% of the world's economic growth over the next decade. China and India recognize that hotels are an essential component of infrastructure development, and other fast growing markets are following suit.  As the world's most global hotel company with the strongest presence in emerging markets, these trends work in our favor, and we could not be more bullish on our long-term prospects. 

When we opened our first hotels in China, we were basically an outpost for Western travelers.  Today, more than 50% of our guests in China are Chinese. The Chinese are beginning to become a major global travel force as well, and by 2015 China will have 100 million outbound travelers, more than any other country in the world. 

For some perspective, that is more people than visit France each year.  When they travel abroad, the Chinese will stay with the hotel brands they know from home, which underscores the significance of our growing footprint of flagship hotels in China and its halo effect on Starwood hotels around the world.

Melanie Nayer is a hotel reviewer and expert on luxury travel around the world. She has covered all aspects of hotels including corporate restructures, re-branding initiatives, historical aspects and the best of the best in luxury hotels around the world.

Melanie writes a weekly exclusive column for 4Hoteliers.com