Starwood
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. marked a new milestone with the
opening of Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central – the largest hotel
to open worldwide in 2012.
At
nearly 4,000 rooms, it is the largest hotel in Starwood’s
global portfolio and
the biggest hotel to open in Macau. Consisting of two sleek towers
overlooking the dazzling Cotai Strip®development, the hotel is home
to the world’s largest Sheraton Club Lounge, a main ballroom the
size of more than 11 basketball
courts, more than 160,000 square feet of meeting space,
three signature restaurants, and three outdoor pools with poolside
cafes. The opening coincides with the 75th anniversary of the
Sheraton brand and widens Starwood’s lead in Asia Pacific, where it
is the largest operator of four and five star hotels and on track to
reach more than 320 hotels by 2014.
“The
opening of Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central represents an historic
milestone for Starwood, for Sheraton, and for the hospitality
industry as a whole,” said Frits van Paasschen, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “Boasting
unparalleled brand recognition and a rich legacy in Asia Pacific,
Sheraton is the ideal fit for this spectacular new hotel in Macau, as
the brand continues to lead Starwood’s growth in the region.”
Sheraton
currently operates 95 hotels
in Asia Pacific and expects to reach nearly 150
hotels by 2016. Propelled by the strength of the Sheraton brand, Asia
Pacific is Starwood’s fastest-growing global market. Sheraton Macao
Hotel, Cotai Central is the second Starwood hotel to open in Macau, a
leading destination for leisure, meetings, incentives and
entertainment.
“The
new Sheraton in Macau will add even more excitement to the rapidly
developing Cotai Strip – the latest world’s gathering place with
rich cultural identity, vast entertainment options and the world’s
hottest gaming market, generating four times the revenue of Las
Vegas,” said Stephen Ho, President, Asia Pacific, Starwood Hotels &
Resorts Worldwide, Inc. “Starwood’s strength across Asia
Pacific highlights our
first mover advantage, the strength of our brands and the meaningful
relationships we have fostered with our developers, partners, and
guests ever since we debuted Sheraton in China in 1985.”
“Macau
is well on its way to establishing itself as Asia’s number one
destination for business and leisure travelers,” said Edward Tracy,
President and Chief Executive Officer, Sands China Ltd. “Sheraton
guests are now at the absolute center of the best offerings on the
Cotai Strip at Sands Cotai Central, with pathways to adventure, fun
and fortune all within reach – exquisite dining, duty-free
shopping, world-class entertainment events, gaming excitement and the
biggest and best meetings and conventions.”
Sheraton
Macao Hotel, Cotai Central is part of Sands Cotai Central, Macau’s
newest, fully integrated resort and a premier shopping, dining and
entertainment destination on the Cotai Strip. Easily accessible by
air, land and sea, Macau was visited by 13 million tourists in the
first half of 2012, with the majority coming from mainland China.
Macau has surpassed Las Vegas as the world’s biggest casino market
since 2006 and is the only place in China where casino resorts are
legal.
Opening
in two phases, Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central today opened
Sheraton Sky Tower, featuring 1,829 rooms, the 13,000-square-foot
Sheraton Club Lounge, the Kashgar Grand Ballroom and
additional meeting space. Other highlights include Palms
Lounge, the brand’s signature Link@Sheraton™ communications hub
in the lobby, the luxurious Sala Pool on level four, Shine Spa and
Sheraton Core Performance fitness facility, featuring the Sheraton
brand’s revolutionary new health and fitness program, Sheraton
Fitness programmed by Core Performance™, designed exclusively for
Sheraton guests through its partner Core Performance. The hotel’s
second tower (Sheraton Earth Tower) opens early next year, and will
offer an additional 2,067 rooms, as well as two more outdoor pools,
one offering spectacular views of the Cotai Strip.
The
construction of Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central helped boost the
Macau economy and provided locals with a wide range of career
opportunities. The hotel team hosted a number of job
fairs that yielded more than 10,000 job applications, and traveled
nearly 10,000 miles to interview 5,000 candidates. As part of the
on-the-job training for its 1,500 associates, the hotel conducted a
massive, two-week simulation where 10,000 guests arrived to check in
and out of 5,000 rooms. The hotel’s uniquely international hotel
staff includes speakers of 19 languages including Mandarin,
Cantonese, English, German, French, Italian, Vietnamese,
Thai, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish,Portuguese,
Dutch, Swedish, Russian, Indonesian and various Chinese dialects.
An
enormous amount of planning and preparation was required to create
the world’s largest Sheraton. To light its 3,896 guest rooms, the
Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central has purchased and installed
90,796 light bulbs – more than 4.5 times the total number of light
bulbs to light the Eiffel Tower. Staff will fold and place 35,217
plush towels in the guest bathrooms, fluff 15,652 pillows, and fold
9,372 bed sheets with perfect hospital corners. The hotel will equip
its nearly 4,000 guest rooms with 6,256 Sweet Sleeper beds.