Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. said Thursday that it is opening five more hotels in China as it keeps pace with plans to double its properties in the region by 2011.

"Within two years we expect to have a presence in Shanghai that rivals our existing footprint in New York City, where we have a strong representation of more than a dozen hotels and growing," President and Chief Executive Frits Van Paasschen said in a statement.

The lodging operator already has 47 hotels in China, with another 50 in its development pipeline. The five properties currently being added include St. Regis and Sheraton hotels in areas such as Sanya and Jiangyin, but Starwood anticipates more than 10 hotels including the Le Meridien Xiamen and the Westin Nanjing entering the marketplace before year's end.

Starwood debuted eight new hotels in China last year.

Last month the company said it eliminated more than 500 jobs during the fourth quarter in an effort to scale back overhead to match reduced revenue.

Shares of Starwood added a penny to $11.81 in morning trading.