Starwood Hotels Brand Revived, As SH Hotels & Resorts Rebrands

Several weeks ago, we learned about how the iconic Starwood Hotels brand would be revived. There’s now an update, as this has taken place. This sounds super exciting in theory, though like many sequels, maybe it makes sense to manage your expectations?

Starwood founder revives beloved hotel brand

In 2016, Marriott acquired Starwood for $13 billion, to create the world’s biggest hotel group. The truth is that Starwood was a company that punched above its weight in terms of its hotel portfolio and loyalty program:

• Starwood had some really innovative and “cool” brands, ranging from St. Regis, to W, to Westin, to Luxury Collection; yes, there was a point at which W was actually a cool brand, and you also can’t deny what a brilliant concept the Westin Heavenly Bed was, for an otherwise generic, midscale brand
• The Starwood Preferred Guest loyalty program was the most popular in the miles & points world at the time; it was the first hotel loyalty program to offer elite suite upgrades, guaranteed late check-out, and much more

Us Starwood loyalists were sad when Marriott acquired the brand. That’s because Starwood’s small size always meant that the brand tried harder, so it was worth going out of your way to stay at Starwood properties.

That brings us to the latest development. 64-year-old Barry Sternlicht founded Starwood, and he’s now reviving the hotel brand. Sternlicht is the CEO of Starwood Capital Group, which is a real estate investment firm that owns many hotels, including those branded as Baccarat, 1 Hotels, and Treehouse.

Sternlicht wants another crack at making a mark in the hotel management industry under the Starwood name, and we’re now seeing that come to life. His hotel company, SH Hotels & Resorts, has just rebranded as Starwood Hotels, in hopes that this will raise the company’s profile.

Here’s how Sternlicht describes this development:

“Reintroducing the Starwood Hotels name is personally very exciting for me. It’s a tribute to a legacy that millions of people know and trust — and it comes at a decisive moment in our company’s history. Over the past decade, SH Hotels & Resorts has built three extraordinary brands, including the mission-driven 1 Hotels, which demonstrates how guests can live a luxurious, sustainable life without sacrifice. I didn’t want to do another typical hotel brand after W. The world doesn’t need another brand, it needs a better 1. By reviving the Starwood Hotels name, we aim to marry this trusted legacy of youth, innovation, and guest focus with our modern, tech-enabled, personalized approach to hospitality. As we take this next step, we’re doubling down on our mission to inspire, innovate, and make a difference — for our guests, our partners, and the planet.”

When Marriott acquired Starwood, the brand had 1,300 properties in 100 countries. The newly reborn Starwood has 14 properties in five countries. The company has 22 properties in the pipeline, which will open through 2028. This includes 1 Hotels locations in Austin, Crete, Riyadh, and Seattle, Treehouse locations in Manchester Miami, and Riyadh, and Baccarat locations in Dubai, the Maldives, Riyadh, and Rome. Sternlicht is reportedly planning a fourth brand.

My take on the revival of the Starwood brand

Sternlicht is an absolute visionary, and I have huge respect for him. Despite being a numbers guy running a private equity firm, he clearly has a passion for hospitality, and for the details that make it great. That being said, I wouldn’t quite expect this to be Starwood 2.0:

• Ultimately these three hotel brands already exist and operate (great) hotels, so this is more a branding exercise for the entire group, than anything else
• Hotel brands are a lot more “mature” than they were 30 years ago, when Starwood was at its peak growth, so it’s not as easy for a new or small player to convince other hotels to join their portfolio
• The innovative things that Starwood did with loyalty have since been replicated by other hotel groups, so wouldn’t set the hotel group apart in the same way
• There’s just not a huge appetite for newly built hotels at the moment, especially outside of the limited service sector; this is a challenge all hotel groups are dealing with right now

So I’m always happy to see a hotel group grow, and the use of the Starwood brand here does make me nostalgic. It might even be the push I need to finally check out the Baccarat and 1 Hotels brands.

That being said, best case scenario, I could see Sternlicht creating a small brand that becomes a great acquisition target for one of the major hotel groups. I mean, I’d love to see these quality properties be part of one of the big hotel groups. Then again, it almost seems like that’s exactly what Sternlicht is trying to avoid — Starwood was successfully sold off once, and I don’t think he’s looking to have it sold off again.

If Starwood remains independent, it won’t be big enough for anyone to actually be loyal to the group. Size is kind of a key component in creating a hotel group, and getting a loyal following.

Bottom line

The Starwood brand has been revived, as SH Hotels & Resorts has been rebranded as Starwood Hotels. The initial founder of Starwood is now behind Baccarat, 1 Hotels, and Treehouse, and is packing them all up under his beloved brand.

While the guy behind this is brilliant and I’m excited to see this, I wouldn’t expect Starwood 2.0 to be anything like Starwood 1.0. The industry has changed a lot, mostly for the worse, and I’m not sure the 1994 playbook of creating a quality brand will work in the same way…

What do you make of the (sort of) revival of Starwood?