Skift Take

Frits van Paasschen brings great perspective to the biggest hotel story of the year and offers a smart take on the puzzles that the travel industry still needs to solve.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts was all over the news for the past year as various companies battled to acquire it. Frits van Paasschen, the former Starwood CEO, watched with interest and some nostalgia throughout the process, which ended when Marriott finally closed the deal in September.

Van Paasschen left the company early last year, and he is now an investor, advisor, and author of a book called The Disruptors’ Feast.

He spoke in September at the Skift Global Forum in Manhattan and afterwards joined editor and podcast host Hannah Sampson backstage in the Skift Take Studio to talk about his reaction to Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood, whether a 30-hotel-brand portfolio makes sense, and what kind of disruption hotels should be worrying about.

This mini-episode is one of several conversations we’re bringing you from backstage at the Skift Global Forum. The Skift Take Studio series is presented by Mastercard, a payments technology company that is enabling loyalty, security, and data solutions for the global travel industry.

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Tags: hotels, sgf2016, skift global forum, skift podcast, stp2016

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