Wow, very interesting article from the NY Post this morning regarding Marriott’s buyer’s remorse over the Starwood transaction. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said last week that it needed up to 60 more days to review the deal, and one source quoted in the article said that “not gaining Chinese approval would be a good emergency exit for Marriott”. Apparently, Marriott is worried that any further delays will prevent it from taking advantage of selling Starwood properties in the current hotel real estate market, prior to an expected downturn and decrease in pricing.
Then there are worries over the loyalty programs too…
In particular, Marriott execs are concerned about the compatibility of combining Starwood’s loyalty-rewards program with its own, said one source. Starwood has a younger and more affluent clientele that is used to a more flexible points system than the staid Marriott brand. “This isn’t exactly what they thought they were buying,” said the source. “There is a notion of remorse,” said one source close to the deal.
Full article here.
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2 comments
I’m not sure how the Marriott execs could have been that clueless on what they were buying. Anyone who knows anything about the 2 programs understands the big differences.
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