Starwood Relocates Headquarters to Dubai for One Month

Posted 3/4/2013 - 11:51:57 AM

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DUBAI, UAE—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has begun a month-long relocation of its global headquarters from Stamford, CT to Dubai. From now until April 5, Starwood President/CEO Frits van Paasschen and the company's top executives will conduct day-to-day business from Dubai.

"With 80% of Starwood's pipeline coming from rapidly growing markets, it is simply not possible to lead a truly global business from a boardroom in Connecticut," said van Paasschen in a statement. "Rising wealth and ever greater global connectivity are creating a once-in-a-lifetime growth opportunity for our business—by fueling new demand, changing travel patterns and entirely new travel markets. Dubai epitomizes this changing face of travel, and we expect this relocation will deepen our relationships with partners, associates and customers.”

Over 200 Starwood executives and GMs from the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America will travel to Dubai. The team will meet with associates, customers, owners and prospective developers in the UAE, and plans to take advantage of Dubai's location for business travel to destinations including Mumbai, Addis Ababa, Jeddah, Dushanbe and Kuwait.

Starwood has over 45 hotels and another 30 under development. In Dubai alone, Starwood has 14 hotels and another six in the pipeline, making Dubai Starwood's second largest market in the world behind New York City. The company's Middle East footprint is set to grow by about 70% over the next five years.

This is the company’s second successful relocation, following a similiar move to China in June 2011.