Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. HOT recently announced the debut of St. Regis Istanbul hotel under its luxury brand, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts. The hotel is situated in the upscale Ni??anta???? region and is owned by Nisantasi Konaklama ve Otel Hizmetleri A.S. (Demsa Group) — a Turkish company — which has launched a number of globally-reputed brands in the country.
The hotel — located on Maçka Park — is close to the fashionable designer boutiques and boutique art galleries and offers a clear view of the Bosphorus from each of the guestrooms and suites. The upscale location of the hotel will be beneficial for the company.
The 118-room hotel features a roof-top restaurant along with a bar. Further, it has a modern spa with an indoor pool, fitness center and latest equipment. The hotel also has several meeting rooms for business as well as social gatherings.
Turkey is currently one of the most robust economies in Europe and boasts one of the fastest growing luxury goods markets in the world. Despite the political instability in the country, the prospects of the luxury market are a positive backed by increasing local wealth and international interest in Istanbul and Turkey’s pristine coastlines. The combination of favorable factors like increase in disposable income, decreasing unemployment and a rising middle-class is positively impacting consumers’ spending habits in the retail market, including luxury goods, according to a report by Euromonitor.
Starwood, therefore, is looking to aggressively expand in the country, to tap in on the demand for hotels. The hotelier currently has 11 hotels in Turkey, including four in Istanbul, and plans to open three more this year in Turkey under its Four Points by Sheraton brand. This aggressive expansion will bring the company’s footprint in Turkey to 14 hotels operating under seven of its lifestyle brands by the end of 2015.
In fact, the demand for luxury hotels has also escalated and St. Regis has tripled its global footprint in the last decade to 34 hotels and is set to open three more hotels, globally, this year.
Starwood currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the same industry include Intercontinental Hotels Group plc IHG, Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. VAC and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation WYN. All these stocks have a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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