Starwood will unload $3 billion in real estate, focus on management contracts
Photo Credit: The W New Orleans, which Starwood has already sold. Flickr / Sean Davis
Skift Take
Starwood believes the timing is right to get out of the real estate business to a great extent as it joins Marriott and InterContinental in focusing on management fees as the more stable and lucrative revenue stream.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., owner of the St. Regis, Sheraton and Westin brands, plans to sell $2 billion to $3 billion of hotels in two to three years, Chief Executive Officer Frits van Paasschen said today.
“If markets continue to improve for the sale of hotel assets,” properties in North America, Latin America and Europe would be sold as Starwood hones its focus on managing hotels and brands rather than owning real estate, van Paasschen said in an interview in Dubai, the CEO’s base for a month ending today and home to 14 Starwood hotels.
The company, based in Stamford, Connecticut, has been selling real estate to focus on oper
