Starwood Marriott merger

From the companies’ perspective, the distinction between the Marriott and Starwood portfolios is a major reason for the merger. Adding Starwood will allow Marriott to reward its existing customers with stays at a wider array of interesting luxury properties, while existing Starwood loyalists will gain the benefit of Marriott’s greater geographic reach. But Marriott will need to overcome some Starwood fanatics’ reservations about the quality of the Marriott portfolio.  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/upshot/marriott-merger-has-starwood-lovers-nervous.html


noting that Marriott at least owns Ritz-Carlton, “which I guess is good,” though Mr. Leff contends many Ritz-Carltons are “resort factories” lacking the distinctive touches of Starwood’s top properties.

Setting those capacity concerns aside, there is the separate question of whether Marriott will continue to meet the expectations for personal service that Starwood’s top customers have developed, which are often very high.

If conditions deteriorate enough, Starwood’s biggest fans will face the prospect of switching allegiances, but the big question is to where. Mr. Huff says he could go to Hilton, which is “not as good, but pretty good.” Mr. Walters doesn’t know what he would do.
“I’m so 100 percent Starwood,” he said. “I guess I’ve heard Hyatt is sort of the next best thing.”

In the luxury space, of course, we've got Ritz-Carlton, Bulgari, Edition, Autograph, all on the Marriott side. On the Starwood side, we've got St. Regis, The Luxury Collection and W, again, a very strong portfolio of brands. I think generally we intend to keep them all,” Sorenson told Latham. “We think the demographics around luxury travel are positive for the long-term. We'd like to have as many strong brands to plan in this space as possible and make sure we're delivering experiences, which are distinct. We'll work on making sure those brands are defined in a way that one can be sensed to be different than another but still be true to a luxury experience.”
http://www.travelagentcentral.com/hotels/after-merger-whats-next-marriott-and-starwoods-luxury-brands-54807

11. No timeshare wanted

The sale of Starwood’s vacation ownership business, Vistana, is a condition required to close the deal. If the pending deal to sell Vistana to Interval Leisure Group falls through, so does the mega marriage between Marriott and Starwood.

 

My take: Marriott got out of the vacation ownership business in 2011 and clearly wants no part of it through this transaction. It’s a tough business that can bog down a hotel company’s performance.

- See more at: http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Article/17474/15-takeaways-from-the-Marriott-Starwood-filing#sthash.O2RFJHhX.dpuf

Let's see if Marriott chooses to take care of the loyal Starwood clients. Only the JW Marriott brand can compare to Starwood on guest satisfaction. I hope Marriott fully understands that the Starwood faithful will bolt to Hyatt and Hilton in protest if they are treated poorly on the point conversion. The Starwood Elite choose Starwood because of the level of service and customer care they receive. It's up to Marriott to keep them happy. - See more at: http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Article/17474/15-takeaways-from-the-Marriott-Starwood-filing#sthash.O2RFJHhX.dpuf

RWV: What can travelers expect for the future of Marriott now that you’ve acquired Starwood? 

AS: Until closing, we are operating as two separate companies, so it is business as usual. … While our thinking is quickly evolving, we expect Starwood brands to remain in place. We have demonstrated our ability to rapidly grow the Marriott hotel system, and we believe we can meaningfully accelerate growth in many of Starwood’s brands, particularly in the upscale segment.