Despite much speculation throughout last year of a take-over which was confirmed with the impending acquisition by Marrott, Starwood Hotels didn’t take its eye off the ball in 2015.
The company said it closed out the year with 220 new signed hotel management and franchise deals, up 26% on 2014.
It also opened a record 105 hotels globally in 2015, comprising about 22,000 new rooms.
"Our continued commitment to brands, design and innovation this past year allowed us to accomplish much on behalf of our shareholders, which is a true testament to the great work of our associates and something our team should be proud of," said Thomas Mangas, Chief Executive Officer of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
"As we begin 2016 and work towards our merger close with Marriott to become the world’s largest hotel company, we will continue to vigorously compete in the marketplace and deliver value to our owners."
New signings for Starwood’s Aloft brand grew by 65% during the year while the luxury segment, including St. Regis, The Luxury Collection and W Hotels brands, increased by 40%.
Starwood said it recorded a number of new milestones in 2015, such as the opening of the 700th hotel in The Americas, the 300th Asia Pacific, and the 100th Aloft location.
"We continued to enjoy balanced growth across both mature and emerging markets and across all of our brands, with a notable increase in the number of conversions. Approximately one-third of our openings in 2015 were conversions," said Simon Turner, president of global development.
