Worldhotels welcomed 54 new affiliates to its global portfolio in 2009—an increase of 12% over the number of hotels admitted during the previous year. Of the new affiliates, 12 new properties were added in the Americas, 27 in the EMEA region and 15 in Asia-Pacific. In total, 318 hotels applied for affiliation in 2009. Company leaders say the ratio of applications to acceptances demonstrates both the strong demand for the company’s comprehensive range of services and the group’s specific requirements for affiliation. Worldhotels plans to add an additional 100 properties worldwide in 2010.

In the Americas region, Worldhotels’ new affiliates are located in a variety of key destinations, including Dallas, Atlanta and Chicago. The group also added its first hotel in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The complete list of new affiliates for 2009 includes:

—Secret Harbour Beach Resort, St. Thomas, USVI
—Sagamore, the Art Hotel, Miami Beach, Fla.
—Cibola Vista, Peoria, Ariz.
—dana hotel & spa, Chicago, Ill.
—Riviera Suite South Beach, Miami Beach, Fla.
—Catalina Hotel & Beach Club, Miami Beach, Fla.
—PGA National Resort & Spa, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
—Georgian Terrace Hotel, Atlanta, Ga.
—The Adolphus, Dallas, Texas
—The Empire Hotel, New York City
—The Artmore Hotel, Atlanta, Ga.
—Hotel Madero, Buenos Aires, Argentina
—Hotel le Bleu, Brooklyn, N.Y.

New properties in Europe include additional hotels in several key destinations, such as Budapest, Rotterdam, Helsinki and London. By adding the six properties of the renowned brand City Inn, Worldhotels is now also present in the U.K. business hubs of Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and Bristol. Other important additions to the European portfolio include the renowned Royal Garden Hotel in London, the brand new Grand Majestic Plaza in Prague.

Fifteen new hotels were welcomed into the Asia-Pacific portfolio last year. Among the new additions were six new hotels in China, including the landmark hotel Grand Central Hotel Shanghai, plus four in Australia; three in India; and one in both Japan and Korea.