Starwood Hopes Its New Sheraton Grand Will Revive the Overall Brand

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has launched its newest premier-tier brand, Sheraton Grand, and it hopes the designation will help have a positive impact throughout the overall Sheraton brand.

Sheraton Grand encompasses 10 properties from around the world, eight of which are located in Asia. The remaining two, according to Tuesday's announcement, are in Edinburgh and Rio de Janeiro.

Dave Marr, global brand leader, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, says the portfolio will continue to expand in the coming years.

“Starting with the 10 properties named during today’s announcement, Sheraton will designate 50 properties as Sheraton Grand hotels by the end of 2015 and 100 properties by early 2017,” Marr said. “Sheraton will continue to announce Sheraton Grand Hotels on an ongoing basis as major renovations are completed and new hotels open.”

Yet what exactly the Grand labeling means for these 10 properties remains unclear, as it seems many of the hotels are being re-designated at no additional costs. Sheraton states thee criteria considered for Grand properties are location, the quality of the function spaces, hotel amenities, room standards, and staff and guest satisfaction.

“The Sheraton Grand designation showcases our best properties as prime examples of high quality design and service,” Marr says. “We believe that extolling these premier hotels and differentiating them as being the best of Sheraton around the world will also create a halo effect for the overall brand.”

Marr continues to say that the future for many Sheraton hotels lies in the Grand brand.

“We expect many of our Sheraton hotels to achieve the Sheraton Grand designation, and we will work with our owners to open new Sheraton Grand hotels or renovate existing properties to ensure a consistent and exceptional experience in our new premier tier,” Marr says.

The following 10 hotels are now Sheraton Grand properties:

• Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway
• Sheraton Grand Beijing Dongcheng Hotel
• Sheraton Grand Hotel Dubai
• Sheraton Grand Edinburgh Hotel
• Sheraton Grand Rio Hotel & Resort
• Sheraton Grande Ocean Resort
• Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit
• Sheraton Grande Taipei Hotel
• Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel
•  Sheraton Grande Walkerhill

The announcement of Sheraton Grand follows Sheraton's unveiling in June of its 10-point plan, Sheraton 2020, to be rolled out over the entire portfolio of 435 hotels during the next five years.