U.S. hotels expand their reach into China

— -- Several U.S. hotel chains are ramping up their push into China, pledging to build dozens of properties there in the next three years.

Sheraton, owned by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, announced on Wednesday plans for nine new resorts in greater China by the end of 2012. With nearly 4,000 rooms, a 10th resort in Macao, a special administrative region of China, will become Sheraton's biggest hotel and Starwood's largest resort.

Marriott International last week signed a deal for its 100th hotel in China, the JW Marriott Hotel Shenyang in the northeast, and pledged to add a hotel a month in the country over the next three years. Already, Marriott has 56 hotels in China, including JW Marriott, Renaissance and Courtyard hotels. An additional 44 are in the works.

China has become one of the hottest markets for U.S. hotel chains because of its rapid urbanization, thriving middle class and growing popularity as an international destination. The China National Tourist Office estimates that China had 26.1 million visitors last year.

According to research firm Lodging Econometrics, at the close of the third quarter this year there were 1,385 new hotels in the pipeline throughout China. "There's just a great opportunity," says Timothy Ford, vice president of administration at Lodging Econometrics. "If you look around the world as a hotel executive and you look at the statistics about where I should be, it comes out China, China, China."

Marriott officials say membership in their frequent-guest rewards program has increased about 50% in Asia in the past three years but that the rate of growth among Chinese guests has been nearly double that. Officials expect that to double by the end of the year.

"Asia is a key market for us, and China is the driver of Asia," Simon Cooper, Marriott International's president and managing director for Asia Pacific, said in a written statement. "We are totally committed to the country and to our operations here."

As for Sheraton, the new hotels are part of a $5 billion push to grow globally, particularly in Asia and the Middle East. By the end of this year, Sheraton will have 46 resorts and hotels in greater China. Sheraton has 400 properties worldwide.

"The Sheraton resorts portfolio is experiencing phenomenal growth fueled by the development boom in China and other dynamic emerging markets across Asia Pacific and the Middle East," says Hoyt Harper, global brand leader for Sheraton Hotels and Resorts.

Hilton Worldwide plans to have 100 hotels open in China by 2014. They will mainly be Hilton Hotels and Resorts and DoubleTree by Hilton full-service properties, but there will also be several Waldorf Astoria and Conrad luxury properties. Wyndham Hotel Group has 401 hotels in China now, an increase of 131 since September 2010.

Hyatt last month announced it would introduce its Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands to China with three new hotels by 2015. It has a total of 31 projects across several of its brands slated to be built. IHG has 162 hotels open in China and an additional 143 in the pipeline, including InterContinentals and Holiday Inns. Carlson has 21 hotels under development, including 16 Radisson hotels and five Park Plaza locations. They will join 10 hotels in Beijing and Shanghai and other cities.

Even Club Med is getting in on the action with plans to open a second 162-room property in Guilin, Guangxi Province, by August 2012. It joins the Club Med Yabuli in northeast China.