Marriott buys Starwood; Accor in talks with Fairmont; Expedia nabs HomeAway â€" what’s next as the big gets bigger?Â
Marriott buys Starwood. It came probably in a tweet, a Facebook post or a LinkedIn update. Just three words which mean a lot. A heck of a lot.
In fact, you could say, in travel industry terms, those three words probably carry as much import behind them as Ernest Hemingway’s famous phrase, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn”.
The US$12.2 billion deal brings together two large American giants to make one big American Extra Large Giant. 5,500 hotels. One million rooms. 30 brands. $2.7b in combined revenues. Marriott fought off other suitors for the prize, among them, Hyatt and couple of Chinese brands, among them said to be Wanda and Jinjiang.
Personally, I think it’d have been far more interesting if one of the Chinese companies had bought it â€" but hey, there’s more left on the buffet table as the hotel industry heads for consolidation.
Accor Hotels is reportedly in talks to buy Fairmont and that’s a pairing that would make sense. The French hotel group needs a bigger footprint in North America and a stronger upscale luxury portfolio and Fairmont is, in the big scheme of things, a middle weight and that’s a tough place to be right now.
We’re truly entering the land of giants and specialists â€" the travel sandwich is getting thinner in the middle.
Read the full story here.