STARWOOD CAPITAL Trading Luxury For Budget Hotels

It's been reported in the financial press that Starwood Capital head Barry Sternlicht has said the group is looking to dispose of some luxury assets in order to create more critical mass in the budget hotel sector. Starwood is a leading privately held investment management firm.
While the group is well known for its acquisition in the mid 90's of Starwood Hotels and Resorts along with brands Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, St. Regis and W, Sternlicht left in the 2005 to focus on the investment group and expanding international acquisitions.
It's acquisition of Groupe Taittinger/Société du Louvre with its SDL hotel group of over 800 budget hotel Europe saw a large foray into the budget tier. This was further reinforced in 2009 as the group acquired Golden Tulip Hospitality BV who have 260 hotels in 45 countries along with core brands Golden Tulip and Tulip Inn.
According to industry watchers the budget segment is widely attracting more institutional investors due to its lower investment and development profile along with recurring cash yields. In Phuket Golden Tulip recently signed the Mangosteen Resort and have 5 new hotels under development in Thailand.