Starwood Partners with Shanghai Jin Jiang Hotels

Starwood Capital Group has recently announced that they have entered into a strategic relationship with Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels Company Limited. Jin Jiang currently has 263 hotels either in operation or under development, including 160 properties under the brand, Jin Jiang Inn.

In response to Jin Jiang’s IPO, Starwood Capital has made a $30 million investment in the company, making Starwood the largest shareholder outside the Jin Jiang company. Before Starwood’s investment, Jin Jiang was a state-owned enterprise under the control of the Shanghai City Government.

The two hotel powerhouses will work together to develop and strengthen hotel business in China. Barry Sternlicht, the chairman and ceo of Starwood Capital, was quoted in Hospitality News (http://www.hospitalitynet.org) as saying, “Starwood Capital is very excited about the potential for Jin Jiang in China and abroad, and for our future partnership together… Jin Jiang’s geographic reach and portfolio of owned assets across all hotel categories leaves it uniquely positioned to benefit from the explosive growth in the Chinese hotel industry, fueled by rapidly expanding tourism and business travel. By combining Jin Jiang’s portfolio, which features irreplaceable hotels in Shanghai and other major Chinese cities, with our track record of creating global brands and enhancing asset value in both the luxury and budget categories, the partnership has the potential to create significant value for both companies going forward.”

And as we all know, where hotels go, timeshares and vacation ownership is sure to follow, which is good news as the People’s Republic of China prepares for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.