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From Crillon and Baccarat to Extended Stay: Barry Sternlicht's New Acquisition

March 18, 2010 at 12:58 PM | by | Comments (0)

Will Molly visit Barry at an Extended Stay hotel?

Two years ago at this time we were all salivating over the luxury hotel plans put forth by former Starwood-er Barry Sternlicht, the man credited with the success of W Hotels, who intended to build hotel brands around the Crillon Hotel in Paris and the luxury crystal maker Baccarat. In addition to those brands, Sternlicht would also develop 1 Hotels, a high-end, green boutique hotel brand.

To date, none of these hotels have come to fruition thanks to the hospitality industry's spectacular downfall (dropping rates, laying off staff, foreclosures, etc) in the wake of the economic crisis of 2009.

So Barry is doing something different these days, like buying Extended Stay Hotels through his Starwood Capital investing firm.

WSJ has all the nitty gritty financial details but what's interesting to note is that Barry will put his grand hotel ideas to work on the budget brand:

According to some creditors who attended a December meeting called by Starwood Capital, Mr. Sternlicht said he would rebrand the hotel chain, which caters to budget-conscious travelers, and recommended expanding its franchise business and spinning off its real estate in an initial public offering. "He's a great salesman," said a participant who asked not to be identified.

Could this mean we'll be staying in more stylish Extended Stay hotels in the future? Certainly so. But this market is getting a little crowded. So many budget brands have popped up (Aloft, Element, Hyatt Place) or have undergone serious makeovers (a la Motel 6) that it might be hard to carve out a niche here.

Barry best have some innovative ideas about free breakfast, free WiFi and room design to come out on top here.

[Photo of Extended Stay America hotel room: Jbcurio]

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