Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Hospitality |
Founded | 1998 |
Headquarters | Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. |
Number of locations | 67 (2022) |
Area served | Worldwide |
Parent | Marriott International |
Website |
w-hotels |
W Hotels is an American hotel chain founded by Starwood Hotels and Resorts but now owned by Marriott International operating around 70 upscale hotels and long-stay apartment facilites worldwide. [1]
W Hotels was launched in 1998 with W New York, a conversion of the former Doral Inn hotel on Lexington Avenue, Manhattan. [2] [3] Barry Sternlicht, then CEO of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Hotels 1995–2005, created the brand. [4] The concept included dark, muted colors, brushed metal, hotel staff in black T-shirts, photographs, and a bar. [5] His demand for all-white bedding required manufacturers to develop white fabric that stayed clean without weekly dry cleaning. [4] Many properties are co-located with luxury apartments known as "Residences at the W", such as W Boston and W Austin.[ citation needed]
The earlier W Hotels in the U.S. were renovations of existing hotels within the Starwood group. [3] Replacing the lobby with the "living room" concept, where guests could gather at the bar, differed from the traditional hotel. [4] Although W Hotels receives credit for the idea, the underlying concept was once common. In the 1800s, the lobby provided a social gathering point in most communities. In earlier eras, the bar was often unseparated from the lobby. [3] In 2001, Starwood added W New York - Times Square, a design model for the rapid expansion of properties in the United States over the next decade. [6]
W Hotels opened its first hotel in Europe in Istanbul in May 2008. Within the renovated Akaretler Row Houses, a group of historic structures built in the 1870s to house the employees of the Dolmabahçe Palace. [7] Opened in October 2009, W Barcelona hotel was W's first in Western Europe. [8]
In September 2016, Marriott incorporated the W chain into its own portfolio as part of its acquisition of Starwood. [9]
North America |
Europe | Middle E. & Africa |
Pacific |
Asia &Caribbean Latin Am. |
Total | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 [10] | Properties | 26 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 51 |
Rooms | 8,238 | 1,332 | 798 | 2,901 | 876 | 14,145 | |
2017 [11] | Properties | 27 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 53 |
Rooms | 8,459 | 1,324 | 798 | 3,328 | 876 | 14,785 | |
2018 [12] | Properties | 25 | 6 | 3 | 15 | 6 | 55 |
Rooms | 7,474 | 1,253 | 1,221 | 4,021 | 1,074 | 15,043 | |
2019 [13] | Properties | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 6 | 58 |
Rooms | 7,672 | 1,423 | 1,850 | 3,788 | 1,074 | 15,807 | |
2020 [14] | Properties | 24 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 7 | 59 |
Rooms | 7,182 | 1,423 | 1,850 | 4,245 | 1,752 | 16,452 | |
2021 [15] | Properties | 24 | 6 | 6 | 20 | 7 | 63 |
Rooms | 7,041 | 1,354 | 1,989 | 5,514 | 1,752 | 17,650 | |
2022 [16] | Properties | 25 | 8 | 7 | 20 | 7 | 67 |
Rooms | 7,295 | 1,734 | 2,317 | 5,514 | 1,752 | 18,612 |
Media related to W Hotels at Wikimedia Commons