Entrance to the recently renovated Hyatt Regency Atlanta. (Image: Hyatt)
CNBC reported this morning that Hyatt may be on the verge of acquiring Starwood, as the hotel industry is following the airlines in a relentless march toward consolidation.
The business news channel said that the deal under discussion would let Hyatt acquire Starwood for an offer of cash and stock, and that Hyatt would retain control of the combined company.
Lodging giant Starwood has been in play for the past six months, since Earlier rumors suggested that both InterContinental Hotels Group and Wyndham Worldwide might have been looking to merge with Starwood.
Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that three Chinese companies were anxious to bid on Starwood, although the Chinese government wanted to select only one of them to proceed with an offer.
Starwood’s inventory includes more than 1,270 properties in 100 countries, while Hyatt lists 618 locations in 51 countries. According to CNBC, Hyatt is worth $7.23 billion, while Starwood’s valuation is $12.75 billion.
Hyatt’s brands include Andaz, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Hotels, Park Hyatt, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Grand Hyatt, the new Hyatt Centric and a couple of small resort brands.
In Starwood’s brand stable are The Luxury Collection, St. Regis, W, Westin, Le Meridien, Sheraton, Four Points, Aloft, Element, and the Tribute Portfolio (a collection of independent affiliated hotels that use Starwood’s reservations system and participate in its loyalty program).
Which brand would you prefer to see stick around after such a merger: Hyatt or Starwoodk? Why? Please leave your comments below.
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as long as they transfer my lifetime platinum status w/ starwood into lifetime diamond passport status from hyatt. other than that, the hotels we already like w/ starwood will still be available for the near future…because it’ll take time for hyatt to phase out whichever ones they don’t want.
Starwood rocks! I can see adding Hyatt and AmeriSuites (whatever they call it now) into the brand mix, especially as the latter could offer some lower-tier award redemptions. I’m not overly enthusiastic about a merger, but this would surely be better than turning Sheratons into Holiday Inns. 🙂