Feb. 09–Marriott International wants to keep the large majority of brands of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT), the CEO of Stamford-based Starwood told hotel owners, following Marriott's $12.2 billion acquisition of Starwood slated to be completed mid-year.
In a February 4 letter to hotel owners following January's Americas Lodging Investment Summit in Los Angeles, Starwood CEO Thomas Mangas said he believes "most, if not all" Starwood brands will survive the combination. In addition to running Starwood's day-to-day business operations, Mangas said his top priority has been to "advocate for Starwood's people" in his words.
"Marriott has made clear that their top priority as we integrate our companies is talent and their number one focus is people," Mangas said in the letter to hotel owners. "They understand that there is anxiety in both organizations and among stakeholders like you. They plan to move quickly to make decisions and resolve uncertainty. They also recognize that they will need Starwood talent to facilitate new capabilities, fill new positions and to respond to the volume, scale and complexity that comes from creating a much larger business."
Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-964-2236; www.twitter.com/casoulman
