Barry Sternlicht Brings Back Starwood Brand – Full Timeline

Barry Sternlicht, who built Starwood into a hospitality giant before selling it to Marriott for about $13 billion in 2015, is reviving the Starwood name.

Sternlicht's current hotel management company, SH Hotels & Resorts, will rebrand as Starwood starting in February, the New York Times reported.

The new Starwood is starting out significantly smaller than how its predecessor ended, with just 14 hotels across three brands (Baccarat, 1 Hotels, and Treehouse) compared to the original's 1,300 properties and 11 brands.

However, the 64-year-old Sternlicht has ambitious plans, with 22 hotels in development through 2028. He said he would be willing to sell a stake in Starwood to help expand the pipeline more quickly.

Sternlicht's dreams are taken more seriously than most in the hotel sector because he runs Starwood Capital Group, a private equity firm with over $115 billion in assets. Sternlicht was 11th on Skift's recent Power Rankings.

An unanswered question is whether Starwood will introduce a loyalty program across the 1 Hotels, Treehouse, and Baccarat brands.

Starwood was an innovator in hotel loyalty programs. As loyalty expert Gary Leff noted, Starwood was the "first to market with 'true redemption' (any standard room was available for redemption on points) and suite upgrades for frequent guests, if available at check-in." It also "launched innovative loyalty features like 24-hour check-in."

Ask Skift: Timeline on how Starwood became a hotel empire

Starwood's journey from a small real estate venture to a $12.2 billion acquisition target showed how innovation and strategic acquisitions can transform an industry.

Starwood's story's timeline from Ask Skift also hints at what Sternlicht might do as he resurrects the brand and his hotel empire-building aspirations.

Starwood's Early Years

• 1991: Barry Sternlicht launches Starwood Capital Partners with $20 million, starting with buying Doral Inn in New York City.

• 1994: Sternlicht creates Starwood Lodging through merger of Starwood Capital assets.

• 1995: Partners with Goldman Sachs to buy the upscale hotel brand Westin for $561 million. Becomes "paired-share REIT" through the acquisition of Hotel Investors Trust.

Starwood's Expansion

• 1997: Makes two game-changing moves — buys Westin ($1.8 bilion) and ITT Sheraton ($9.8 billion, beating Hilton's hostile bid).

• 1998: Launches W Hotels by converting the Doral Inn, creating arguably the first branded boutique hotel chain.

The Innovation Years

• 1999: Introduces industry-changing Westin Heavenly Bed and Starwood Preferred Guest rewards program.

• 2007-2015: Under CEO Frits van Paasschen, aggressively expands in China.

• 2010: Hits 1,000-hotel milestone globally.

• 2014: Pioneers keyless entry and mobile check-in.

The Big Exit

• 2015: Board puts company up for sale amid financial pressure. Marriott wins a bidding war against China's Anbang Insurance, announcing an acquisition worth over $13 billion that closed in 2016.

Skift Power Rankings: Barry Sternlicht

As CEO of Starwood Capital, Sternlicht the longtime hotel king balances financial performance with social responsibility.

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Accommodations Sector Stock Index Performance Year-to-Date

What am I looking at? The performance of hotels and short-term rental sector stocks within the ST200. The index includes companies publicly traded across global markets, including international and regional hotel brands, hotel REITs, hotel management companies, alternative accommodations, and timeshares.

The Skift Travel 200 (ST200) combines the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies worth more than a trillion dollars into a single number. See more hotels and short-term rental financial sector performance.

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