The name of Starwood, which has disappeared from the radar since its takeover by Marriott in 2016, will soon return to the hotel scene. Barry Sternlicht, still head of the Starwood Capital investment fund that gave birth to Version 1 in 1995, has announced the relaunch of this former star of the global hotel industry, a pioneer in the lifestyle segment with its W brand and recognised by business travellers for its Sheraton brand and luxurious St Regis hotels. The relaunch is not based on the same foundations - Starwood had more than 1,000 hotels worldwide when it was acquired - but on from the fifteen or so establishments in the SH Hotels & Resorts groupwhich, as Barry Sternlicht explained a few days ago in the New York Timesto be renamed Starwood Hotels from February.
A subsidiary of investor Starwood Capital, the SH Hotels & Resorts group brings together the three brands launched by Barry Sternlicht since he left the head of Starwood in 2005, namely theluxury hotels 1 Hotels and the more affordable TreeHouse, both with a strong sustainable positioning, as well as Baccarat Hotels. With its more classic luxury and the opulence of crystal, this brand currently has just one prestigious establishment, in New York, but is expected to open in Rome, Florence and Dubai. As for TreeHouse Hotels, there is also just one in London, while two new hotels are due to open this year, the first still in the UK, in Manchester, and the other in Silicon Valley.
At the same time, the 1 Hotels brand is being further developed with twelve establishmentsMost of these will be in the Atlantic, including New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Toronto, as well as a hotel in London, in the chic Mayfair district, and a resort in China, on the island of Sanya. The portfolio is set to grow this year, with openings planned in Copenhagen, Tokyo and Melbourne.
As the Starwood group rises from the ashes, it can count on some twenty projects underway, including one in France, in Paris. This long-rumoured project, backed by investors Compagnie de Phalsbourg and Station F, is set to give rise to a green complex designed by Kengo Kuma, right next to the incubator, which will include both a Slo Living youth hostel and a luxury 1Hotel eco-hotel.
