On the heels of this year’s biggest news in the hospitality industry, Marriott and Starwood have already broken ground on a combined hotel development in downtown Denver. Earlier this month, the two upscale hotel chains merged under one of the largest acquisitions in hotel history.
“This is an opportunity to create value by combining the distribution and strengths of Marriott and Starwood, enhancing our competitiveness in a quickly evolving marketplace,” said Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott International, in a statement regarding the merger. “This greater scale should offer a wider choice of brands to consumers, improve economics to owners and franchisees, increase unit growth and enhance long-term value.”
The new 18-story dual-branded property will include an AC Hotel by Marriott alongside a Le Meridien Hotel from Starwood Hotels & Resorts. It is scheduled to open in summer 2017, just a year after the deal between the two brands will officially close.
“The combination of our two companies brings together the best in innovation, culture and execution. Our guests and customers will benefit from so many more options across 30 hotel brands, while our hotel owners and franchisees will derive value from our combined global platforms,” said Adam Aron, interim CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
Located a block from Colorado Convention Center, the 495-room dual-branded hotel will be located in the center of the business district and close to the state capital. It will include the first AC Hotel to open in Denver. Each hotel will have its own entry points, lobbies and food and beverage outlets. Both properties will be managed by White Lodging Services Corporation.
Le Meridien will offer 272 guest rooms, a full-service restaurant, a 24-hour fitness center and a business center. There will be more than 8,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, including a 5,000-square-foot ballroom. Similar to other Le Meridien properties, the hotel will have social gathering places, art collections and a global coffee initiative.
