Agreed. Though those cities are also some of the most expensive and most difficult for new construction. That certainly is the challenge for London and Paris.

There's a reason that so many new St. Regis properties are opening in China--there is so much new building construction that there have been and continue to be so many opportunities.

London's current US Embassy is to be vacated for a new embassy facility later this year. That current embassy building was purchased by the same Qatar fund that owns several St Regis hotels. The rumor is that this current Mayfair-located embassy building may become the St. Regis London.

Tokyo already has the Luxury Collection Prince Gallery Kioicho, which based on reviews is a spectacular hotel worthy of any St Regis or Ritz Carlton. (I'll be staying there in May 2018.) Tokyo's hosting of the 2020 Olympics helped fuel a hotel boom, so perhaps a new hotel may yet become a St Regis.

Paris getting the 2024 Olympics and Los Angeles getting the 2028 Olympics may yet fuel more luxury hotel construction/reflagging in anticipation. Paris is a particularly difficult city for new construction. Los Angeles is undergoing a construction boom, so I'd give the edge to Los Angeles eventually getting a new St. Regis. Let's not forget that there was a very nice St. Regis Los Angeles in Century City that went condo in 2006.

Boston and Chicago will need a new hotel boom or a very nice hotel building to reflag in order to get St. Regis. Fortunately, both have a Ritz Carlton.

Zurich and Geneva are tough markets, as well, for new hotels. Especially for US brands. The Wilson in Geneva might make a StR a tougher sell for an owner.

I wonder what resort destinations might be added to the StR portfolio. I'd assume possible priority additions would be:

--Honolulu (rumors of a St Regis tower at a renovated Princess Kaiulani Sheraron complex, if they ever start the reno project)
--Caribbean
--Fiji
--South Africa