I am not in the hotel business, but I have the impression that organic growth in Europe is very difficult, be it through opening new hotels or taking over management contracts of existing hotels and reflagging. The European business travel market does not grow substantially any more, and the last two economic crises have introduced a level of cost-consciousness that appears to remain permanently in place.

Although I don't have any historical statistics, it seems to me that most of the current Starwood locations

1) Have either been opened in the 1960s/1970s when the concept of a branded chain hotel was still new in Europe, and Sheratons sprung up in major commercial centers

2) Or have been the result of major acquisitions, such as the CIGA acquisition in 1990s (which involved today's Luxury Collection hotels), the joint venture with Schörghuber (then under the Arabella brand, which involved most German/Austrian Starwoods), or more recently Le Meridien.

I can't imagine how an organic growth strategy in France could work. As previous posters have remarked - Accor has pretty much cornered the market and covers each and every segment from low budget to luxury.