Marriott dethrones Taj as India’s No. 1 hotel chain

The enlarged Marriott oversees 5,700 properties with more than 1.1 million rooms.

Marriott is looking to expand in the Asia-Pacific region, where Smith hopes growth will double in the next four to five years.

The three brands are propelling the company’s global growth with 132 new hotels deals signed so far this year, up 89% from the same time last year. Marriott intends to take the steps necessary to cause Starwood’s outstanding public debt to be pari passu with the outstanding public debt of Marriott International by the end of 2016.

Marriott hotels are known for their luxury appeal, as are Starwood’s roster; it’s essentially a merger of the some of the world’s most premium hotels.

Marriott has also launched a microsite, www.members.marriott.com, for users of the schemes to link accounts.

Each Starwood point will reportedly be worth three Marriott Rewards points for guests. It has also added two former Starwood directors-Eric Hippeau, partner at Lerer Hippeau Ventures and Aylwin Lewis, chairman and CEO of Potbelly Corporation.

Marriott estimates a costs savings of $250 million annually from the merger.

Sorenson said that its agreements with third-party hotel owners require keeping those hotels’ brands as is through the remainder of those contracts. Marriot silver members will be the equivalent of Starwood’s lowest category, Preferred Plus.

Starting on Friday, members of Starwood and Marriott’s loyalty programmes will be able to exchange their reward points.

It comes almost a year after the deal was first announced, resulting in a bidding war between Marriott and the Chinese-led Anbang consortium for control of Starwood. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter previous year.

“Nothing changes immediately. We have to see how those partnerships evolve”, Sorenson said.

Marriott International Inc closed down -0.39 points or -0.56% at $69.75 with 1,75,62,130 shares getting traded on Thursday.

More than 15,000 of Marriott’s 206,000 worldwide employees are in the D.C. region, many of whom are at its longtime Bethesda headquarters, making it the region’s seventh largest nongovernmental employer. While Marriott operates brands like Ritz Carlton, JW Marriott and Courtyard by Mariott among others, Starwood Hotels owns brands such as Le Meridien, St Regis and Westin.

“These enhanced efficiencies and revenue opportunities should drive improved property-level profitability as well as greater owner and franchisee preference for the combined company’s brands, which will encourage new hotel development”, Sorenson said.

In related news, SVP Brian G. Macnamara sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 2nd.

The counter offer from Anbang prompted Marriott to raise its offer.