DUBAI-Starwood Hotels & Resorts WorldwideInc., based in Stamford, CT, hassigned agreements to operate four more hotels in the Middle East,including three here and one in Erbil, Iraq. The deal with twoseparate development firms will include almost 2,000 new hotelrooms in the two cities.

Here, Starwood has signed with the Al HabtoorGroup to open three hotels on a one-million-square-footproperty on Sheikh Zayed Road. The properties willinclude a 241-key St. Regis Dubai, the 384-keyW Dubai and the 1,179-key WestinDubai, all opening in 2017.

Starwood already operates 15 hotels in Dubai, representing thesecond largest concentration of the company’s hotels in a singlecity outside of New York City, said Roeland Vos,president of the EMEA region for Starwood. “Dubai has surged overthe years as a top destination for international travelers,” hesaid in a statement.