In the wake of last week's announcement that the Le Meridien brand would make its New Orleans debut, Starwood Hotels & Resorts revealed today a significant investment by both the company and its ownership groups of nearly $3 billion in existing and new properties. Le Méridien also announced that its owners will invest another $1 billion in an effort to solidify its portfolio of more than 100 hotels, including properties in Barcelona, Bali, Istanbul, Atlanta, Mexico City and Shanghai.
“Over the past seven years, Starwood has made significant investments in developing Le Méridien as a contemporary lifestyle brand with a truly distinct point of view, and with the tremendous support of our ownership groups, we have also transformed the portfolio into its most competitive position to date,” said Brian Povinelli, Global Brand Leader, Le Méridien and Westin at the 35th Annual New York University Hospitality Investment Conference.
Over the past seven years, Le Méridien has undergone a full brand transformation, including a comprehensive portfolio review as well as the re-development of its brand strategy, marketing approach and hotel service standards. Le Meridien has also removed more than 40 hotels and resorts from the original portfolio purchased by Starwood, while another 25 hotels have undergone renovations to make up the best portfolio in the brand’s history.
Le Méridien has had more new hotel deals signed in the past year than in the previous four years combined. Earlier this year, Le Méridien Hotels announced a significant growth pipeline of 10 new hotels and resorts expected to open by early 2014, including properties in Cairo, Chicago, Yixing (China), Zhengzhou (China), and Mahabaleshwar (India). Additionally, as the Middle East and Africa region continues to evolve as an international business and leisure travel hub, Le Méridien brand this past March announced an investment totaling more than $200 million for the renovations of 12 hotels in the region.