Skift Take
Don't know if you've noticed it, but we definitely see a trend: Merger or not, Starwood isn't letting up on its brand development investments anytime soon. It'll be interesting to see how much it can differentiate a legacy brand like Le Meridien when positioned against Marriott's Renaissance Hotels or AC Hotels brands.
More than a decade after Starwood Hotels & Resorts acquired Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts, the upper upscale hotel brand started by Air France in 1972, has come into maturation.
Thanks to a brand reinvention project initiated by Starwood three years ago, Le Meridien is embarking on more ambitious expansion plans and reinvestments in its existing properties that total more than $300 million, including the renovation of Le Meridien Etoile in Paris, the brand's very first property. That investment is largely being driven by its hotel owners, as well as Starwood management's investments in marketing, loyalty, and technology.
In the past three years, the brand has grow in North America and Asia Pacific by nearly 25% and more than 50% of its properties in Europe and the Middle East have been renovated. Today, there are more than 100 Le Meridien hotels around the world in 37 different countries — more than the higher profile sister brand W Hotels — and over the next four years 30 more a
