Marriott CEO Tells Starwood Loyalty Members ‘You’ll Be OK’
Photo Credit: Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson appearing on CNBC following the company's Q3 earnings report. CNBC
Skift Take
Marriott's purchase is really about two things: creating the world's largest hospitality loyalty program and getting access to a few billion in real estate assets that can be sold off. The extra brands are just a bonus.
Marriott International's impending purchase of Starwood Hotels and Resorts will have transformative effects throughout the two companies' existing business, from concerns about over saturation in markets like New York City to an overabundance of brands in one company's stable — the new company will have 30 of them.
But the most vocal and frequent concerns have come from members of the hotels' respective loyalty programs, Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG). Combined, they would be the largest loyalty program in the hospitality business and offer what CEO Arne Sorenson optimistically described today as a lock on
