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DURING THE MID- 1980s, THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY CONSIDERED CHINA AN UNKNOWN FRONTIER, AND FEW LUXURY HOTEL BRANDS WERE LOOKING TO VENTURE INTO THE EXPANSIVE COUNTRY. ALTHOUGH THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC WAS IN THE MIDST OF LONG-AWAITED POLITICAL REFORM, ITS POLICIES WERE SLOW TO WELCOME FOREIGN INVESTMENT.


U


Hotels and Resorts, however, China’s rocky transition period was viewed merely as a short-term challenge. T ey recognized the long-term potential of its budding economy, where high-stakes risks would lay the foundation for enor- mous reward. Today, Starwood is one of the largest four- and fi ve-star


Under the rule of its Communist leaders, China had succeeded in cutting itself off from the rest of the world. But thanks to political reform, bolstered by rapid modernization and a robust population of 1 billion people, business opportunities bubbled at the surface and promised to completely transform China’s— and the world’s—economic landscape.


When China fi rst began to open up, gaining a foothold in its emerging markets presented enormous fi nancial risk, particularly for American companies looking to establish a presence in the Far East. For the executives at Starwood


JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®


hotel operators in China. In fact, the country represents Starwood’s second largest hotel market behind the United States. Since opening the fi rst internationally branded hotel in China in 1985—the Great Wall Sheraton® in Beijing— Starwood has created the largest pipeline of upscale hotels in China, with 62 existing properties and another 86 in the works. Ken Siegel, Starwood’s chief administrative offi cer and general


counsel, notes that within the next year, one in every three of the company’s new hotels will open in China, a nation where more than 170 cities each boast more than a million-plus residents. But while China represents a signifi cant business invest-


ment for Starwood, company executives count themselves among the early pioneers of the vast and varied Asian market s, having fi rst established properties and international residences in the region during the 1970s. Today, Starwood hotels can be found in Japan, T ailand, Vietnam,


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