Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
From Free net encyclopedia
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (Template:NYSE) is a hospitality ownership, management, and franchise organization based in White Plains, NY. The company owns, operates, franchises and manages hospitality properities under its 8 owned brands. As of 2005-11-25 the firm operated more than 850 hotels with about 232,000 rooms worldwide. Starwood Preferred Guest is the company's frequent stay program.
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Brands
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is Starwood's largest and oldest brand. Sheraton serves the needs of both business and leisure travelers in locations from Argentina to Zimbabwe. The brand was founded in 1937 in Springfield, Massachusetts. The chain grew quickly and was the first American hotel-chain to list on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1998 Sheraton and its sister brands Four Points, St Regis, and Luxury Collection were acquired by Starwood.
History
The brand now known as Sheraton began in 1937 when two entrepreneurs acquired a hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts. They soon expanded their holdings to include properties from Maine to Florida. In 1945 it was the first hotel chain to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (this claim is also made by competitor Hilton Hotels).
Sheraton expanded internationally in 1949 with the purchase of two Canadian hotel chains and grew rapidly around the world. The 1960's saw the first Sheraton hotels in Latin America and the Middle East and, by 1965, the 100th Sheraton opened its doors. The multinational conglomerate ITT purchased the chain in 1968, after which it was known as ITT Sheraton.
In 1995, ITT Sheraton introduced the Four Points mid-priced brand.
In 1998, ITT Sheraton was acquired by Starwood.
Four Points by Sheraton
Image:Fourpointsbysheratonhotel.jpg Four Points by Sheraton is Starwood's mid-market hotel brand, targeted towards business travelers and small conventions. Four Points was created by the former ITT Sheraton before Starwood acquired the firm in 1998. The brand includes hotels and resorts located in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Australia, and the Middle East. Plans to expand throughout Europe include new hotels in Dornbim, Austria, and Zurich, Switzerland.
Smith Travel Research classifies Four Points hotels as "Upscale" whereas Westin and Sheraton brand hotels are "Upper Upscale".
The Luxury Collection
The Luxury Collection brand includes hotels, and resorts located in the United States, Canada, Africa, Asia, Europe, Mexico, Latin America and the Middle East. The Luxury Collection allows luxury existing to affiliate with a leading international brand while preserving their well-recognized identities. The brand also includes newly developed hotels such as The Atlantic in Ft Lauderdale, FL, built in 2003.
Le Méridien
Le Méridien is a french-style hotel brand formerly headquartered in the United Kingdom, with 130 properties. Its acquisition by Starwood was announced 2005-04-28 and completed 2005-11-24. Le Méridien will allow Starwood to continue expanding throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
St. Regis
The St. Regis brand includes hotels and resorts located in the United States, Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.
Since 1998, Starwood has expanded the St. Regis brand as the company's luxury offering. Additional St. Regis properties are planned for the Bahamas, Indonesia, and Singapore. Currently, 13 properties are open.
W Hotels
The W Hotels brand features contemporary properties, with hip designs, modern facilities, and a young staff. The group has hotels in Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Montreal, New Orleans, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Silicon Valley.
W has ambitious expansion plans with hotels planned for Dallas (2006), the Maldives (2006), Vieques (2006), Hoboken (2007), Phoenix (2007), Scottsdale (2007), South Beach (2007), Barcelona (2008), Fort Lauderdale (2008), Hollywood (2008), Hong Kong (2008), Las Vegas (2008), and Shanghai (2008).
Westin
The Westin Hotels brand includes hotels, resorts and spas located in the United States, Australia, Canada, and other countries. Westin locations are targeted towards upscale business travelers and convention attendees.
aLoft
Announced on 2005-09-28, the aloft brand combines the features of W Hotels and the value of Four Points by Sheraton. Starwood plans to open the first hotels in Lexington, Massachusetts; Tucson, Arizona; San Francisco International Airport; Philadelphia International Airport; and Cherry Creek, Colorado.
By the end of 2012 Starwood plans to have 500 aloft properties open.
History
Starwood inherited the original St. Regis hotel on Fifth Ave. in its 1998 acquisition of ITT Sheraton. The Sheraton, The Luxury Collection and Four Points by Sheraton brands were acquired in the ITT Sheraton acquisition.
History of the Westin brand
The brand now known as Westin began as a small chain called Western Hotels, founded by two Washington state hotel owners in the 1930's and focusing on properties in the Pacific Northwest and California. Rapid expansion in the 1950's and 1960's, in the western US as well as in some international markets, necessitated a name change, to Western International Hotels in 1963. In 1970, the chain became a wholly-owned subsidary of United Airlines and remained so until Starwood assumed ownership. It was during UAL ownership that the Westin name (most likely a combination of "Western" and "International") began to be used (use of the Westin name dates back to 1983).
Starwood assumed partial ownership in 1994 and full ownership in 1998.