Corporate Travel Is Bracing for the Impact of the Marriott-Starwood Merger
Skift Take
It could still be several weeks before the Marriott-Starwood deal is wrapped up — and much longer before the two companies are integrated — but travel buyers and travel management companies are wise to start preparing now for eventual negotiations with the bulked-up company.
As the Marriott acquisition of Starwood nears completion, corporate travel experts say companies may need to think outside the behemoth to save money — and get better at forcing travelers to comply with travel policies.
While the $12.2 billion deal is taking longer than expected to close, thanks to a request for additional review time by Chinese authorities, travel management companies and corporations are already considering the repercussions of two competitors joining forces to become the world's largest hotel company.
"There's never been anything like this in the hotel industry ever," said Bjorn Hanson, a professor of hospitality and tourism at New York University's Tisch Center. "This is of a scale and importance that's never been experienced in the industry."
The merger would create a company with nearly 30 brands and more than 1.1 million rooms in some 5,500 properties — a size that some worry will give the combined company much more muscle when it comes to negotiating corporate rates.
"With daily room rates and occupancy levels at all-time highs in many major markets, basic economics dictate that less competition will only lead to even higher prices and mor
