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Starwood CEO Sternlicht Is Unapologetically Bearish on the Recovery of Conventions

Cameron Sperance
Marriott Marquis NYC

Photo Credit: It will take years for business to fully return to hotels like the Marriott Marquis in Times Square (pictured). Flickr / Thank You (21 Millions+) views

Skift Take

Group business and convention bookings may be coming back to life, but we're years away from some of the world's largest hotels seeing regularly sold-out nights. Barry Sternlicht said it, in striking difference to some bullishness from his fellow travel execs this week.

There are several reasons for Starwood Property Trust CEO Barry Sternlicht to be optimistic with the hotel industry. Convention hotels aren’t one of them, apparently. In a departure from what CEOs at hotel companies like Hilton and Hyatt said earlier this week, Sternlicht predicts an uncertain, long road ahead for some of the biggest hotels in the U.S. “What we’re most worried about are the Marriott Marquis of the world,” Sternlicht said on a Thursday investor call of the brand known for its often more than 1,000-room hotels. “It’s going to be a while for those businesses to come back.” While optimistic around more affordable hotel brands as well as luxury resorts, Sternlicht took a notably less optimistic look on the back half of 2021. Sternlicht, who previously oversaw Starwood H

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