This past week saw the creation of the world's largest hotel company, as Marriott purchased Starwood for $12.2B. "I think it's an interesting merger for both companies," Starwood Capital Management Group Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht says.
In our Video of the Day, Barry says he thought the company stopped innovating, forgot about the customer and lacked "focus on the basics."
And the blockbuster sale might only be the beginning. Barry predicts more hotel consolidation to accommodate increased demand in the travel industry. "I think the bar is raised for travel companies," he says.
But what about those Chinese investors in the running to buy Starwood? "They're just slow," he says, mentioning that it's hard to run a company without a permanent CEO. "But they might come back around."
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