Starwood pitches its tent in Dubai
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has begun a month-long relocation of its global headquarters from Stamford, Connecticut, to Dubai.
Until April 5, Starwood president & CEO Frits van Paasschen and the company’s top executives will conduct day-to-day business from Dubai, which the hotel company describes as "an increasingly important global destination and travel hub".
The move to Dubai follows a similar stint in China in June 2011.
Starwood said this second leadership move reflects the company’s "innovative management approach to cultivating a more global culture by understanding, appreciating and leveraging different societal perspectives and approaches to business and hospitality".
"With 80 percent 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.
"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."
During the course of the Dubai relocation, more than 200 Starwood executives and GMs from the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America will travel to the emirate as the company runs day-to-day operations almost 7,000 miles and a nine-hour time zone away from its usual HQ outside New York City.
Ian Jarrett
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