Lest you think that Starwood Hotels chairman Barry Sternlicht loves his W hotel brand over all others--opening five Ws in three years in New York City alone--he says he's focusing on the Sheraton next in a recent Crain's New York Business article. The 384-unit Sheraton brand, Starwood's least snazzy, will undergo a $50 million makeover with an eye towards pleasing the "midlevel managers and conference-goers," Sternlicht says. The Seventh Avenue Sheraton New York, Starwood's North America cash-cow, will be part of this massive revamping, which seeks to "create a conservative yet contemporary business image."
With the opening of the new W New York - Times Square, Starwood--which also owns the St. Regis, Four Points and Westin hotel chains--now operates 6,153 rooms in the city, beating out former chain leaders Hilton and Marriott. In other Starwood news, the W chain's public relations and advertising budget has been "doubled to $2 million this year," and the chain itself will be split off "into a separate corporate division, to give it more ammunition for growth."
Posted 03.20.02
With the opening of the new W New York - Times Square, Starwood--which also owns the St. Regis, Four Points and Westin hotel chains--now operates 6,153 rooms in the city, beating out former chain leaders Hilton and Marriott. In other Starwood news, the W chain's public relations and advertising budget has been "doubled to $2 million this year," and the chain itself will be split off "into a separate corporate division, to give it more ammunition for growth."
Posted 03.20.02
