Marriott International announces transformation plan for Sheraton hotels

Marriott International is transforming its luxury hotel brand, Sheraton. 

Marriott International announced its transformation plans for its Sheraton Hotels and Resorts brand last week. Sheraton is the third largest brand in Marriott’s portfolio and its largest outside of North America in terms of room count.

As a whole, Marriott has a portfolio of over 6,500 properties across 30 brands in 127 countries and territories.

Globally, around 25% of Sheraton hotels have committed to renovations and some are already underway, with Marriott stating that an estimated $500mn is to be spent across the US.  

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Arne Sorenson, President and CEO of Marriott, has stated that after the company merged with Starwood in 2016, its next priority was to ‘revitalise’ Sheraton.

“We wanted to build on Sheraton’s rich legacy of siting at the heart of communities across the globe, but also to create a differentiated positioning and compelling proposition for its owners.”

He added: “With our Sheraton transformation plan, we’ve put together all of the pieces of the equation to work cooperatively without owners to set this iconic brand on a new, disciplined and successful path. We are ready, our vision if clear and the energy is robust for Sheraton.”

Sheraton has 450 hotels currently in operation across 72 countries, with 80 more projects underway. Marriott hopes to expand the brand’s footprint to 90 countries by 2020.

Tina Edmundson, Global Brand Officer at Marriott International, stated: “Marriott International is well positioned to deliver a comprehensive stratify for Sheraton’s brand transformation and we already have great momentum. This is the first time in years that the brand has been above competitive benchmark in both rate and occupancy.

“We have improved our brand standards, increased group booking, and have revamped our business engine over the last year as a first step in a multi-phase, multi-year plan, leveraging our experience in revitalising lodging brands.”