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Hotels
Marriott and Starwood jolted their loyalty program members awake on Friday by allowing them to link award accounts.
Grant Martin, Skift | 8 years ago
That didn't take too long now, did it? In all seriousness, however, this mega-merger was certainly a long one in the making, filled with plenty of twists and turns. Now, we hope, comes the even more interesting part in the next chapter of the story.
Deanna Ting, Skift | 8 years ago
Starwood Hotels & Resorts as we know it may be going away now that it'll be owned by Marriott International, but its history of innovation has had a lasting impact on the hospitality industry as a whole.
Read on for our takes on all 30 of Marriott's brands.
Deanna Ting and Greg Oates, Skift | 8 years ago
The one thing about mergers and acquisitions that isn't usually discussed? Bringing different company cultures together. That'll be key to the success of Marriott's acquisition of Starwood, and Marriott's Global Chief Human Resources Officer David Rodriguez knows it.
SkiftX
If there were any doubts about the Marriott-Starwood deal getting done, you can now toss them out because of the approval from Chinese regulators. Now, let's get on with it.
Dennis Schaal, Skift | 8 years ago
Recent reports alleging that Marriott has "buyer's remorse" about the deal, while scintillating, don't seem very logical when you think of all the effort both Marriott and Starwood have put into making this deal a reality.
Business Travel
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.
Hannah Sampson, Skift | 8 years ago
In China, anything is possible when it comes to antitrust clearance and there are a number of potential reasons why regulatory authorities there extended their review of the Marriott-Starwood merger. This prolonged waiting game could be part of a larger strategy to extract concessions and finish off part of what Anbang started in March.
You're probably wondering — as are we — if this delay in Chinese regulatory approval of the Marriott-Starwood deal has something to do with the fact that one of China's largest insurance companies tried to buy Starwood earlier this year in a dramatic bidding war, only to step away at the 11th hour, reportedly because Chinese regulators frowned on the idea. We'll certainly be looking into this more.
