Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (NYSE:HOT) announced it saw hotel demand increase during the first-quarter, notably in luxury brands, pushing its first-quarter profit higher, well ahead consensus estimates. The owner of the Sheraton, W, Westin as well as other hotel brands, printed a profit of $30 million, or EPS of $0.16, for the three months ended March 31, vs. earnings of $6 million, or $0.03, in the year ago quarter. Excluding certain special items, the company would have turned in EPS of $0.13. Revenue climbed 5% to $1.19 billion from $1.13 billion. Analysts, on average, were projecting EPS of $0.02 on revenues of $1.08 billion. Starwood reported that systemwide revenue per available room at its North American hotels open at least a year (revpar) climbed 2.8%, which is considered widely as a key gauge for hotel operators. That figure increased 6.3% worldwide. White Plains, NY-based Starwood also issued guidance well ahead of estimates, forecasting 2010 EPS of $0.88, vs. consensus estimates of $0.74.