Dissecting the Future of the Newly Combined Marriott and Starwood
Photo Credit: The JW Marriott in Los Cabos. Marriott's third quarter results were mixed, but the company gave a bit more insight into how it plans to proceed with its integration with Starwood. Marriott International / Marriott International
Skift Take
It's still very early into the integration of these two massive hotel companies, but so far it's fairly clear what Marriott has in store for Starwood, even if the details have yet to be ironed out.
Just how does Marriott intend to proceed now that it owns Starwood Hotels & Resorts and has 1.6 million guest rooms spread out over 30 hotel brands worldwide? And now that it's considered the world's largest hotel company, with a much larger global, more international presence than ever before?
Those questions were on everyone's mind, especially investors, when Marriott held its third quarter 2016 earnings conference call Tuesday.
Just eight days before the close of Marriott's third quarter, the company's dramatic, long-awaited, $13.3-billion acquisition of Starwood finally closed. And with that addition to its balance sheet, Marriott's third quarter results were, predictably, a bit mixed because of $228 million in costs related to the deal, which Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson called "the most transformational transaction in the company's history."
Sorenson addressed investors' interests at the top of the call, saying, "We know you are anxious to hear much more about our int
