STARWOOD Hotels and Resorts Worldwide is likely to introduce all of its nine brands in China earlier than the scheduled 2010, a senior official of the group disclosed yesterday.

Eight of the group's brands, including Sheraton, will have made their presence felt in the Chinese market after an Aloft hotel opens in Beijing around the end of this year, said Qian Jin, senior vice president of Starwood's China operations.

"Element is the last brand that Starwood hasn't introduced in China, but we expect it wouldn't take a long time to finish the last step and we are likely to introduce all brands ahead of schedule (in 2010)," Qian said.

The group has been growing rapidly since late 1990s in China and it now runs 45 hotels in the country, with 57 new hotels in the pipeline. It will open two more hotels in Shanghai in 2010 to increase the number of hotels in the city to 10, Qian said.

Qian made the remarks on the sidelines of Sheraton's first-ever "Global Out-of-the-Office Day" in Shanghai, and the activity was also held in other cities such as New York, Sydney, Toronto and San Diego.

Thousands of Sheraton staff around the world worked "out of the office" yesterday to showcase the brand's new "Link@Sheraton experience with Microsoft," a unique lobby lounge that creates a sense of community and offers travelers a convenient online experience and instant access to information for work, leisure and social networking.

Sheraton is undertaking a strategy over several years to enhance the brand's portfolio, including US$1.3 billion in renovations, US$400 million in key brand initiatives and more than US$2 billion to open new hotels.