Starwood Hotels and Resorts
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) is a hospitality holding company based in White Plains, New York, USA. The company owns, operates, franchises and manages hospitality properities under its 8 owned brands. As of November 25, 2005 the firm operated more than 850 hotels with about 232,000 rooms worldwide. Starwood Preferred Guest, is the company's frequent stay program.
History
Starwood inherited the St. Regis and original St. Regis hotel on Fifth Ave. in its 1998 acquisition of ITT Sheraton. The Luxury Collection and Four Points by Sheraton brands were also included in the ITT Sheraton acquisition. Westin, a hotel management firm from Phoenix, had been acquired several years earlier.
Brands
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
Sheraton is the flagship-brand hotel chain, with hotels in every content: see List of Sheraton Hotels.
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Hawaii is the subsidiary that operates hotels in Hawaii.
Four Points by Sheraton
Four Points by Sheraton is a mid-market brand of Sheraton in contrast to the high-end business of the main Sheraton Hotels and Resorts brand. The target audience of Four Points is business travelers and small conventions. Smith Travel Research classifies Four Points hotels as "Upscale" whereas Westin and Sheraton brand hotels are "Upper Upscale". Four Points was created by the former ITT Sheraton, before the firm was acquired by Starwood in 1998.
The brand includes hotels and resorts located in the United States, Canada , Mexico, and other countries.
The Luxury Collection
The Luxury Collection is a hotel chain that is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
The brand includes hotels, Country clubs, spas and resorts located in the United States, Canada, Africa, Asia, Europe, Mexico, Latin America and the Middle East.
St. Regis
The St. Regis brand includes hotels, resorts and spas located in the United States, Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. St. Regis SPA and Residences in Mexico City is scheduled for completion by late 2006 ( the first one in Latin America ).
Since 1998, Starwood has expanded the St. Regis brand as the company's luxury offering and St Regis hotels are now found in the USA, Anguilla, Italy, UK, and China. Additional St. Regis properties are planned for the Bahamas, Indonesia, and Singapore.
W Hotel
W Hotel is another hotel chain brand. The hotels are located in Australia, Canada, Mexico ( the winner of 2003 Design Award ), South Korea and the United States. A new W Hotel is set to open in the Maldives in 2006.
Westin
The Westin Hotels brand includes hotels, resports and spas located in the United States, Australia, Canada, and other countries.
Prior to 1984, the chain was known as Western International Hotels, which was a subsidary of United Airlines.
Le Méridien
The Le Méridien is a large French brand with 130 properties. It was acquired by Starwood on 2005-04-28.