ST4S15-V1 Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

Assessment Point 1 (ST4S15-V1)

______________________________________________________________

Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

Prepared by:

Raghdaa Kandil

Presented to:

Dr. Amarachi Amaugo

ST4S15-V1 Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

Introduction

The hospitality sector is a dynamic business environment where every part of a housed real estate has to
be occupied every day. Other parts of the real estate also must be utilized ranging from meeting rooms,
ball rooms, restaurants... Etc. It is one thing keeping this type of business up and running given the
vigorous economic circumstances - it is completely another thing to take it to the net level and include
another hotel to the business either by acquiring it or merging with it. Baltin, Butler and Benudiz (2005)
explain that there will always be sellers who are willing to sell their properties, but there are strategic
motives behind buying a hotel in the first place. One buyer may target becoming more efficient through
larger economies of scale, or expects prospective success for a specific type of property that lacks from
his portfolio. Another may possibly find it an added value to enter another geographic market thus
increasing his market share. In this essay we will critically analyze the strategy of the biggest acquisition
deal in the history of hotel industry since Blackstone Group LP bought Hilton in 2007, which is the merge
of Marriot Hotel and Starwood Hotel and Resorts, Nycz-Conner (2015).

The Two Flagships Before The Merge

Renner (2010) explains that the Marriott brand falls under its umbrella a full-service array of hotels and
resorts. With more than 500 locations around the world their vision is “To become the premiere provider
and facilitator of leisure and vacation experiences in the world” as quoted by Reed (2014). Before the
acquisition, the majority of their market share is in the United States; Goetz (2016) illustrates that
corporation generated more than 80% of its profits within the US. The dominant number of brands that
Marriott operates targets mid-class leisure and business travelers, which include the well-known
Courtyard brand that is widespread with over 800 locations. The chain sheds special focus on providing
their target clients with all preeminent facilities such as internet access, on the house breakfast and other
similar gestures that mid-level travelers usually appreciate. This was the main reason that contributed to
Marriot’s prominence throughout all of these years. In 1997, Marriott acquired the Renaissance hotel and
then the Ritz-Carlton followed by two new luxury brands Autograph and Edition. The introduction of
these chains to the Marriot family aimed to pursue the high-end portion of hospitality end-users who seek
the ambiance of an extravagance hospitality life style, an experience Marriott was not known for. Lastly,
Marriott also manages the global timeshare brand known as Marriott Vacation Club International that
includes 50 resorts.

On the other hand Renner (2010) clarifies that Starwood plays in a different pool of the market segment
different than the Marriot as they operate exclusively in the luxury category of the brands as illustrated in
Figure 1. The brands that fall under Starwood’s umbrella are Ritz, Sheraton, Le Meridian, the Luxury
ST4S15-V1 Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

Collection, the Westin, Element W and Four Points. Even though they only operate a limited number of
1000 properties, their reach is widespread to more than 100 countries worldwide. Starwood was able to
stand out within its classification among the hotels that serve the upscale segments and has been able to
conform to its strategy the economy despite the fluctuations of the economy. Starwood’s strategy is fueled
by the power global partnerships amongst different sectors; Finance Master Card, Food & Beverage like
Coca-Cola, Retail Amazon and so much more, which emphasizes on their efforts to provide their
customers with a unique luxurious experience on all levels.

Marriot’s Strategy on a Corporate Level

Mangunsong (2012) explains that there are three main types of strategies on the corporate level;

I. Stability – This is a strategy where the corporate decides to keep on the same business track and
continues to operate in the same manner aiming for maintaining the same market share.
II. Renewal – This is a rescue strategy which calls for counter plan when the organization is falling
behind. At this point the business owner develops a “renewal strategy” that aims to remedy the
deteriorating performance of the firm.
III. Growth - When an organization aims at growing the scale and volume of the markets they serve
or the products they deliver, it follows the Growth strategy. This is achieved either by expanding
its current business or through adding new business, which entails increasing its size by assets
and sales or by number of employees, market share..etc. Organizations grow by using tactics like
concentration, either vertical or horizontal integration, or diversification.

Our focus here is on the horizontal integration which Barnat (2014) explains that it occurs when a
business merges or acquires a competitors’ business, in other words they combine operations in the same
ST4S15-V1 Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

industry to increase the buyers competitive strengths. Horizontal Integration has become one of the most
prevalent Growth strategies in the modern economic world. In 2016, Marriott International created the
largest hotel chain in the world by closing a 13 billion Dollar acquisition of Starwood Hotels and Resorts
Worldwide. Thirty hotel brands have fallen under the Marriott empire with more than 5,800 properties
and 1.1 million rooms in more than 110 countries, which is more than 1 out of 15 hotel rooms around the
globe, says CNBC (2018). Arne Sorenson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Marriott
International from Marriott News Center (2016) says that “The marriage of these two leading hotel
companies means Marriott will deliver an unparalleled guest experience with more hotels in more global
destinations, an unrivaled range of comprehensive accommodations to suit every traveler, and the
industry’s best loyalty programs,”.

Marriot’s Strategy on a Business Level

According to elearn.uta.edu (2010) website, our understanding of the three strategies is as follows;

 Cost Leadership Strategy: here the strategy’s ultimate purpose is to produce products or deliver
services with attributes that are satisfactory to the customers sold at the lowest cost in relation to
the other competitors,
 Differentiation Strategy: this strategy aims at introducing a non-standardized service or product to
a broad segment of customer with a certain added-value at a competitive cost.
 Focus Strategy: To execute a set of integrated actions that focus on either being different or cost
leader amongst a specified segment of the market.

Based on the definition of the above categories, I believe that Marriot’s step to acquire Starwood hotel
was steered by adopting the Differentiation and Cost Leadership strategies.

 Marriot Differentiation Strategy

To elaborate more on this approach, we can dig deeper into the introduction of the A+ brands- Autograph
Collection and Ritz-Carlton- to the chain. These two chains seek out the type of customer that would pay
a premium priced package for a luxurious, high-end accommodation. The brand has been able to sustain
and increase competitive service that offers a unique edge of quality that does not only meet the
customer’s expectations but supersedes it compared to other competitors in the same pool. Although
mainly focuses on certain target group of clients, its services has reached out to the luxury segments as
well after acquiring the Ritz and Autograph Collection, thus boosting its market share as illustrated in
figure 2. The new cluster of the groundbreaking brand provides wide-reaching hotels that suits the
different tastes and experiences the lodgers are seeking; whether it is an urban edge hotel, a resort, or a
ST4S15-V1 Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

boutique hotel. Preserving the identity and personality of Marriot, this brand aims at capturing a new
segment of guests who are looking for a type of service that a standalone hotel cannot offer. As
exemplified by UKEssays (2010) golf courses, exceptional health spas, and tennis courts. The brand has
been able to charge the high-end customer with high-priced charges in return to the added-value those
customers uniquely perceives from Marriot. This move has enabled the enterprise to counterbalance the
increase in prices from suppliers and any superfluous expenses resulting from the operations of the upper
scale brands that sometimes offers a service beyond the limits of its class.

 Marriot Cost Leadership Strategy

As mentioned before, Marriott International is primarily a key player within the upper scale category of
hotels. This category targets a broad market segments that is considered the dominant end users of the
lodging business. Among the moderate tier segment, brands such as SpringHill Suites, and Courtyard is
after the upper level, whilst Fairfield Inn aims for the lower levels. The corporation has surpassed many
of its competitors by increasing the efficiency of its cost production process thus enabling it to make a
sensible margin of profit from charging their customer a relatively low price for the service. Through a
variety of methods Marriot was able to lower its operating costs like including applying more
environmental friendly buildings, waste reduction procedures, and green supply chains.

Marriott adopts the moto of "spirit to preserve", a concept that promotes long-term sustainability plan that
elevates their environmental performance in a two-fold way; conserve and preserve the environment and
also reduce costs. As indicated by Marriott International, Inc. (2018). In 2015 they were able to get
LEED certification for 142 properties compared to 137 properties in 2013. Applying LEED regulations
ST4S15-V1 Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

has led to a drop in the rates of energy and water consumption by 25% which has led to a substantial
decrease in their costs. Similarly environmental friendly products have been integrated in their
procurement system since 2008 including greener key cards, recycled stationary, low energy light bulbs,
water-efficient showerheads and toilets. Stonybrook.digication (2018).

 Starwood Focused Differentiation

According to Ebooks.narotama (2018), Focus strategy, as implied from its name, focuses only a niche
market segment to serve. The firm tries to attain its competitive advantage by choosing to adopt the
differentiation strategy or the cost minimization with the focused target segment. In Starwood’s case, it is
a brand that engraved its name in the high-end market. Despite the drop in the economy, Starwood brands
like Ritz-Carlton St. Regis, W hotels and the Luxury collection have not deviated from their positioning
the hospitality market as “ distinctive luxury” hotels. Besides Le Meridien and Westin, the brand owns
four- and five-star independent hotels, but still they are considered part of Starwood’s “distinct premium”
portfolio.

Marriott and Starwood Strategic Positioning-Bowman’s Strategy Clock

The red triangle encompasses the positioning of Marriot, Starwood before and after the merger, as
explained by Riley (2017):
ST4S15-V1 Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

(Position 3)-Hybrid

This position involves some merge between low price – in relation to the competitors –and
service/product differentiation. This position reflects Marriot’s positioning pre-merge which is maintained
also after it.

(Position 4)-Differentiation

The aim is to focus on providing the client with the maximum added value from his perspective. Branding
and the product’s quality are key factors that contribute to the success of this strategy. The high quality
service along with strong brand awareness and loyalty reflects Marriot’s positioning pre-merge which is
maintained also after it.

(Position 5)-Focused Differentiation

This strategy aims to position a product at the highest price levels, where customers buy the product
because of the high perceived value. This strategy’s core key player is the perceived added value.
Customers will pay prices that are above and beyond the market average in return to the value they
distinguish in this specific brand. This strategy was adopted by Starwood’s which positioned it pre-merge
and then acquired by Marriot after the merge.

External Analysis- PESTLE Key Trends Identification

Political Factors

Taxes : Generally development in the hospitality sector corresponds to stable income for the governments
from tax payments, so usually foreign investments are encouraged. However the instability of the
wavering political and economic circumstances around the globe may increase risk on new market entries
according to UKEssay (2010).

National Campaigns: With more than 4,016 properties just in the US, Marriot is heavily affected by the
US situation. In 2009, the U.S. received visitors less than in 2000 by 2.4, Oxford Economics has named
this year by the this “lost decade” for the tourism industry. This failure to keep pace with the growth in
global travel has cost the US economy nearly 70 million visitor equivalents to a loss of $500 billion in
revenue, and over 440,000 jobs. Travel Promotion Act decided to step up by marketing “brand America”
and explaining U.S. security policies with the aim to bring in more visitors, Renner (2010).

Laws and Regulations: Marriott International developed its own Code of Conduct and strictly abides by
its guidelines. One of the many aspects covered is that they acknowledge that their international activities
ST4S15-V1 Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

are may be subject to both U.S. antitrust laws and the laws of the European Union or of other countries
they operate in. Marriot’s policy is to comply with all these applicable laws and regulations as declared by
Marriot (2010)

Terrorism: Since they are the largest hotel company in the world, the volatile political climate directly
affects the chain’s strategy and market positions. Things like terrorism attacks in tourism destinations and
international relations between countries and attacks on airplanes affect the rate of visitors in those
countries and the probabilities of tourists getting on board on flights in the first place. Examples of such
incidents are the missile attack on the Malaysian Airlines Flight in 2014 and the September 11 attacks in
2001 in the US. Also it includes attack in the touristic site such as the murder of 39 people at a hotel
beach in Tunisia and the attack on a Las Vegas festival by a gunman in October 2016, Pestle Analysis
(2015).

Public View: Offensive statements like the ones publicized by Donald Trump against the minorities had a
severely negative impact on the turnout rates of tourists to US especially from the Middle East area. To
begin with, the number of arrival flights to America has declined with 1.4 percent in sum between the
period of 27 and 30 September last year. The analysts rationalise this from the correlation between the
travel ban that Trump announced by prohibiting Muslims from coming into America followed by the
decline of international visitors to the US, Coffey (2017).

Economical Factors

Currency: As the monetary weight of the US Dollar currency has boosted in the capital market, this has
adversely affected the US position globally as a holiday destination because it has become expensive and
non-affordable for a large segment of tourists.

Economic Growth: Money is made were the economy is flourishing and Marriot looks at this concept
with a pure business-oriented approach. On the other hand, as described by Pestle Analysis (2015), one
the risky economic factors that might affect Marriott’s business is the slow rate of economic growth in
China and the continuing economic confusion in Europe. Moreover, the breakdown of the stock market in
China and the debt crisis in Europe has greatly diminished the leisure purchasing power and re-arranged
their priorities in terms of where to spend their money.

Social Factors

Diversity and Inclusion: Marriot’s continuing growth has reached 60% outside of North America, which
they plan to enhance by increasing awareness on openness towards diverse cultures and backgrounds.
ST4S15-V1 Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

Also in the US, which is Marriot’s biggest market, one out of every nine individual is foreign-born, so
Marriot’s vision is to integrate diversity and inclusion into their organization , Marriott International, Inc.
(2010).

Guest Satisfaction: Marriot believes that clients’ stopover to their properties should not be a one-time
thing, based on that they have developed a Robust Reward System and Loyalty Program where they
ensure that they form a bond with their clients and that they will come back. The system offers rewarding
travel experiences and the loyalty program provides a customer feedback program and care centers. The
benefit here is two way; the customer enjoys the perks of a program of special benefits and thus the sense
of attachment to the brand is heightened making Marriot their preferred choice, Renner (2010).

Technological Factors

Online Booking Portals: Websites that utilize technological systems that facilitate update and expedite the
booking process, but meanwhile they take a margin of profit giving a false indication of hotel’s prices.
Thus, Marriott has its own user-friendly and reliable website that encourages the clients to access it
instead, thus reduces the probability of agents to manipulate the published rates of the hotel.

Online Rental Services: Nowadays, Technology has a direct impact on the lodging business in the form of
online rental portals such as Airbnb. This service allows private owner of houses or room t or rent their
properties to travelers worldwide. It has become real threat to the hospitality market with figures showing
that approximately six million guests resided in properties via Airbnb in 2013.

Environmental Factors

Environmental factors like hurricanes that his tourism destination, raise in fuel prices thus making the
airplane tickets beyond capability of certain segment of tourists.

Legal Factors

One of the favoring Legal factors that can

positively impact Marriot is the legal situation of
online services like Airbnb. Cities globally like
Barcelona and New York has is in the process of
suing Airbnb for violating city laws like health
and safety regulations, zoning laws, and illegal
ST4S15-V1 Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

contractual issues related to not paying the lodging taxes, Pestle Analysis (2015).

Key Stakeholders Analysis

The Project Management Institute define the term Stakeholder in its Project Management Body of
Knowledge (PMBOK) as “An individual, group or organization who may affect, be affected by, or

perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity or outcome of the project” . On the other hand, as
defined by Marr (2016), Key Stakeholder is a person or entity that has significant influence over the
success of an organization . According to the PMI there is multiple classification models used for
stakeholders analysis, in the following diagram the Power/interest grid is used; the stakeholders are
grouped based on their extent of authority (“power”) and their level or concern (“interest”) regarding the
project outcomes and focuses on the higher power zones;

Employees: Marriot has been named in Fortune’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For” for the past
19 years. After the merge and adding 200,000 Starwood employees to new company, total number of
labor will reach to half million. Third of Marriot’s employees have worked for the corporation for more
than 10 years, which implies the low turnover rate and high sense of commitment and allegiance.
Regarding Starwood staff, according to David Rodriguez the global chief human resources officer of
Marriot, the ones who will be affected by the merge are the high-rank calibers like CEOs , but the vast
majority of the staff are coming on board. The new company bears the responsibility of sustaining these
new staff that have the better knowledge of the Starwood properties and thus big power but also they have
the interest in keeping their jobs.

Shareholders: Marriot’s CEO stated regarding the bid that “Clearly, Marriott is the only deal on the table
and brings tremendous value for our shareholders”, Ting, D. (2016). Although more than 79 percent of
outstanding shares, voted pro the bid, the shareholders from both Starwood and Marriott will no doubt be
keeping a close eye on Marriott’s stock price.

Industry Analysis-Porter Five Forces Model

After Marriot’s positioning in the market has been analyzed, we can conduct an informed analysis to the
deep and underlying competitive forces that affects the position and competitive advantage of the brand.

Buyer Power

With Marriott strong brand recognition, it has always been able to attract buyers from different segments;
mid-scale, upper and now after the merger it luxury scale to the list. Now with over 100 million unique
ST4S15-V1 Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

members, Marriot’s loyalty programs have developed a strong and powerful platform of dedicated clients.
Marriott hotels rom and accommodation facilities has become more affordable, because a client is a
member of the Starwood loyalty program, he will be able to book the premium room with no extra
charge, Marriot (2017). However, generally buyer groups can act as a bargaining power as a result of the
bulk purchase of room. Although differentiation is a serious element of choice for the business travelers
and for other categories of leisure travelers, but its importance decreases in the group catering vs budget
leisure groups. Cheng (2013).

Supplier Power

Operationally, online travel agencies (OTAs) obtain a profit percentage of the total bookings transacted
through it. But they do offer an opportunity for room price comparisons which limits the chance of price
increase, Horwath HTL Croatia (2015). The merger frenzy is also taking place in the OTA business: in
2017 alone the famous online booking portal Expedia acquired Orbitz, Travelocity and ‘home-sharing’
website.

Suppliers have more bargaining power if their product is an important input in the industry success,
Suppliers may have the upper hand in the bargaining game, if their product/service is of premium
importance to the industry’s success as Cheng (2013) explains. From my point of view, the only supplier
that may seize this kind of power is the providing the industry with skilled and experienced labour, which
has become more valuable than many tangible products.

Degree of Rivalry

The competition for market share becomes fierce when service or product substituting costs or
differentiation is low. Before the merge, Marriott International came in second with 5.6% market share
after the Hilton Hotels Corporation with 7.2% market share. Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide on
the other hand was 3.4%, Cheng (2013).

After the merge the group nearly has a third of the corporate travel hotel spend and even rising to half in
14 of the world’s top 20 cities, Renner (2010). The Starwood acquisition had a life-altering impact on
Marriott’s global footprint. Marriott’s property portfolio was limited to 87 country in operation at the end
of 2015 and rocketed to 122 by the end of 2016, placing it at the front of the market sharers and above
Hilton its largest competitor, Marriott (2017)

Threat of New Entrants

The declination in the European economy has made the purchase of land areas in prime location a no
impossible target for many entrepreneurs. Threat of new entrants has increased significantly if those
ST4S15-V1 Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

businessmen are no risk takers and want to buy a fully finished property as the value of real estate also
decreased.

Threat of Substitution

One of the major advocates of the ‘shared economy’ model is the popular company Airbnb which
expands a room portfolio that exceeds globally Marriott and Starwood combined. Goetz (2016) Marriott
was subject to vulnerability as a result of the U.S. economic recessions.

Conclusion

The incursion of capital has initiated fund managers to look for alternative ways to grow and strengthen
their real estate portfolios in an aggressively competitive environment with less risk appetite to place
capital, Ernest&Young (2015). Consequently, hotel acquisitions and mergers broadened since 2014
involving a publicly-traded or largescale global company total nearly one million hotel rooms. With the
natural attrition in properties and limits to new supply growth, the surest way to grow is often by
acquiring operators with management and franchise contracts, JLL(2017)

Before the bid Marriot spent over 15 billion USD on luxury class hotels, now after the bid it increased its
properties in the hospitality sector from 11% to 25% including brands like brands such as the JW
Marriott, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, Ritz-Carlton, EDITION, Autograph Collection and saving billions,
Renner (2010). Marriot vivid Differentiation and Leaderships strategies have been showcased by their
strong presence not only the middle-class markets but has expanded to the upper scale starting with
acquiring hotels like Ritz and then fortified with the deal with Starwood. The brand simply seeks to fulfil
the desire of every customer apart from his/her buying power.
ST4S15-V1 Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

References

Baltin, B., Butler, J. and Benudiz, P. (2005). The Hotel Acquisition Process. Hotel Online. [online]
Available at: http://www.hotel-online.com/Trends/Jeffer/Articles/09.htm

Barnat, R. (2014). Strategic Management: Formulation and Implementation. [online] Strategy-

formulation.24xls.com. Available at: http://www.strategy-formulation.24xls.com/en408 [Accessed 2 Feb.
2018].

Chitrangkumar, T. (2013). Different Levels of Strategy. [online] Available at:

https://www.slideshare.net/chitrangtandel/different-levels-of-strategy

CNBC (2018). Marriott buys Starwood, becoming world's largest hotel chain. [online] Available at:
https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/23/marriott-buys-starwood-becoming-worlds-largest-hotel-chain.html
[Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].

Coffey, H. (2017). "Trump Slum" Continues”. Independent. [online] Available at:

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/trump-slump-us-tourists-travel-numbers-fall-
america-president-a7999216.html.

eHotelier (2017) Marriott International reports third quarter 2017 results highlights. [online] Available at:
https://ehotelier.com/global/2017/11/08/marriott-international-reports-third-quarter-2017-results-
highlights/.

Ebooks.narotama. (2018). Strategic Management for Hospitality and Tourism. [online] Available at:
http://ebooks.narotama.ac.id/files/Strategic%20Management%20for%20Hospitality%20and%20Tourism/
CHAPTER%205%20%20%20Business-Level%20Strategies.pdf [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].

Elearn.uta.edu (2010). Cite a Website - Cite This For Me. [online] Available at:
https://elearn.uta.edu/bbcswebdav/users/jmcgee/Syllabus/Content/Syllabus%20and%20Course%20Conte
nt/pdf/Chapter%2005.pdf [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].

Ernest&Young (2015). Global hospitality insights. [online] Ernest&Young. Available at:

http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/ey-global-hospitality-insights-2015/$File/ey-global-
hospitality-insights-2015.pdf [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].

Goetz, L. (2016). Marriott International Vs. Starwood Hotel & Resorts (MAR, HOT). [online]
Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/012516/marriot-international-
vs-starwood-hotel-resorts-marhot.asp [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].
ST4S15-V1 Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

Horwath HTL Croatia (2015). Consolidation within the hotel industry: Global vs. local perspective.
[online] Available at: http://29b8je4dgl4v2ndf9h4bmut9.wpengine.netdna-
cdn.com/files/2015/12/Consolidation-Croatia-report-EN1.pdf.

JLL (2017). Hotel Investment Outlook 2017. [online] 2017 JONES LANG LASALLE IP, INC. Available
at: http://www.jll.com/Documents/Hospitality/JLL-HIO-2017.pdf [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].

Karmin, C. (2015). Britain's merger feeding frenzy continues unabated. Market Watch. [online] Available
at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/hotel-industry-enters-a-merger-frenzy-2015-10-30.

Lynn, M. (2011). Segmenting and Targeting Your Market: Strategies and Limitations. [online] Cornell
University School of Hotel Administration. Available at:
http://scholarship.sha.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1238&context=articles [Accessed 2 Feb.
2018].

Marriott International, Inc. (2018). Environmental & Green Initiatives | Marriott Corporate
Responsibility. [online] Available at: http://www.marriott.com/corporate-social-responsibility/corporate-
environmental-responsibility.mi [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].

Marriott International, Inc. (2010). Marriott_Sustainability_Report_Update. [online] Available at:

http://www.marriott.com/Multimedia/PDF/CorporateResponsibility/Marriott_Sustainability_Report_Upd
ate_2010.pdf [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].

Mangunsong, R. (2012). Strategic Management | 3 Main Types of Corporate Strategies. [online]

Myllurmanagement.blogspot.com.eg. Available at:
http://myllurmanagement.blogspot.com.eg/2012/08/strategic-management-3-main-types-of.html
[Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].

Marriott News Center. (2016). Marriott International’s Expanded Portfolio of 30 Leading Hotel Brands
Sets New Global Standard for Unrivaled Travel Experiences and Expanded Loyalty Benefits - Marriott
News Center. [online] Available at: http://news.marriott.com/2016/09/marriott-international-expanded-
loyalty-benefits/ [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].

Marr, B. (2016). Managing and delivering performance. Routledge.

Nycz-Conner, J. (2015). Marriott to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts in $12.2 billion deal. biz journals.
[online] Available at: https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2015/11/16/marriott-international-to-
acquire-starwood-hotels.html.
ST4S15-V1 Strategic Analysis of Marriot and Starwood Merger

Pohlman, M. (2017). Mergers and acquisitions in hospitality expected to accelerate | Hotel Management.
[online] Hotelmanagement.net. Available at: https://www.hotelmanagement.net/transactions/mergers-and-
acquisitions-hospitality-expected-to-accelerate [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].

PESTLE Analysis (2015). PESTLE Analysis of Marriott International. [online] Available at:
http://pestleanalysis.com/pestle-analysis-of-marriott/ [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].

Riley, J. (2017). Bowman's Strategy Clock (Strategic Positioning) | tutor2u Business. [online] tutor2u.
Available at: https://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/strategic-positioning-bowmans-strategy-clock
[Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].

Renner, L. (2010). Strategic Analysis of Marriott International, Inc.. [online] Carlsonwagonlit.com.

Available at: https://dra.american.edu/islandora/object/0910capstones:145/datastream/PDF/view
[Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].

Reed, J. (2014). Marriott's Vision & Mission. [online] prezi. Available at: https://prezi.com/9ylj8p4y2b-
t/marriotts-vision-mission/ [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].

Stonybrook.digication (2018). Digication e-Portfolio :: Sangeeta Bhola :: Business Level Strategy.

[online] Available at: https://stonybrook.digication.com/sangeeta_bhola/Business_Level_Strategy
[Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].

Ting, D. (2016). Marriott and Starwood Shareholders Approve Merger To Become World’s Largest Hotel
Company. Skift. [online] Available at: https://skift.com/2016/04/08/marriott-and-starwood-shareholders-
approve-merger-to-become-worlds-largest-hotel-company/ [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].

UK Essays (2015). Strategic Evaluation Of Marriott International Inc Tourism Essay. [Online] Available
at: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/tourism/strategic-evaluation-of-marriott-international-inc-tourism-
essay.php.

UKEssays (2015). Marriott International Generic Business Level Strategy Marketing Essay. [online]
Available at: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/marriott-international-generic-business-level-
strategy-marketing-essay.php [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].