Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. HOT recently unveiled a hotel under its popular upscale brand Sheraton Hotels & Resorts in the plush neighborhood of Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. The Sheraton Barra Rio de Janeiro Hotel will be operated under a management agreement with local hotel management company — Condominio do Edificio Sheraton Barra.
As part of the hotel’s integration into the Sheraton portfolio, the original property will undergo a renovation. The initial phase of the revamp is scheduled to be completed over the next two years. This includes the renovation of all guestrooms and suites, the lobby and pool to reflect Sheraton’s design standards.
Additionally, the old property will undergo structural improvements to enhance guest experience. The final phase of the renovation will include all public areas, as well as Sheraton Fitness, the restaurant and is likely to be completed by 2018.
The Sheraton Barra Rio de Janeiro Hotel is located in the central part of the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood, and is easily accessible from the Barra Shopping Mall with more than 700 stores and restaurants, and Riocentro, the largest convention center in South America.
The Barra region, located in the western region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, is known for its beaches, lakes and rivers and is a popular tourist spot. Additionally, with the 2016 Olympics coming up, demand for hotels in the region will hit an all-time high.
The 292-room hotel will also provide amenities like an all-day dining restaurant offering international cuisine and a deck with a spectacular ocean view. In addition, it has 1,000 square meters of meeting and event space, apart from an outdoor swimming pool.
The Brazilian market is an important part of Starwood’s Latin American expansion. Starwood is the largest upscale hotel operator in Brazil, with nine properties — seven Sheraton and two Four Points by Sheraton — across the country’s most important cities. With this recent opening, the company now operates 97 hotels in 18 Latin American countries. The hotelier plans to take the total to 150 hotels by 2020.
The steady influx of direct foreign investment in high growth markets and a growing middle class with sufficient disposable income have strengthened tourism in Brazil and boosted its potential as a hospitality market. We believe that Starwood’s aggressive expansion in the region would further strengthen its position as a leading hotelier in Latin America.
Starwood currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the hotel industry are Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. VAC, Intrawest Resorts Holdings, Inc. SNOW and China Lodging Group, Limited HTHT. All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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