Starwood Hotels & Resorts will open its 1,000th hotel this year and break ground on many more despite the global economic downturn, Simon Turner, the company's chief development officer, told delegates at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference. He said the company plans to open up to 200 hotels over the next two years worldwide and has 20 hotels in the pipeline in the Middle East. The company also will open the the first W hotel in Washington DC within the next 60 days, said Joe Sita, CEO of Dubai-based Nakheel Hotels, which owns the hotel.