Westin Hotels & Resorts is an American upscale hotel chain owned by
Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging including hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. The company was founded by ...
. , the Westin Brand has 226 properties with 82,608 rooms in multiple countries in addition to 58 hotels with 15,741 rooms in the pipeline.
History
Western Hotels
In 1930, Severt W. Thurston and Frank Dupar of
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
, Washington met unexpectedly during breakfast at the coffee shop of the Commercial Hotel in Yakima, Washington. The competing hotel owners decided to form a management company to handle all their properties, and help deal with the crippling effects of the ongoing
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. The men invited Peter and Adolph Schmidt, who operated five hotels in the Puget Sound area, to join them, and together they established Western Hotels. The chain consisted of 17 properties – 16 in
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
and one in
Boise, Idaho
Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ar ...
. Its headquarters and executive offices were located in its flagship property, the New Washington Hotel in Seattle.
Western Hotels expanded to
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...
, British Columbia and Portland, Oregon in 1931, to Alaska in 1939, and then to California in 1941, assuming management of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed. Western added properties in Utah in 1949 and Montana in 1950.
Western Hotels executive
Edward Carlson
Edward Carlson (June 4, 1911 – April 3, 1990), was an American hotel and airline executive, and Seattle, Washington civic leader.
convinced Victor "Trader Vic" Bergeron to open his first franchised Trader Vic's location in the chain's Benjamin Franklin Hotel in Seattle in 1949. Originally a small bar named ''The Outrigger'', it was expanded into a full restaurant in 1954 and renamed ''Trader Vic's'' in 1960. Due to the restaurant's success, Bergeron worked with Western Hotels to open Trader Vic's locations in a number of its hotels.
In 1955, Western Hotels assumed management of the landmark Olympic Hotel in Seattle. It became the chain's new flagship, and the headquarters and executive offices were moved from the New Washington Hotel to a newly-decorated suite of offices on the 12th floor of the Olympic, in celebration of the chain's 25th anniversary.
Western Hotels expanded to Hawaii in 1956, assuming management of the Hawaiian Village Hotel, built by Henry J. Kaiser.
Early management developed each property individually. After more than two decades of rapid growth, many of its properties were merged into a single corporate structure in 1958, focusing on bringing the hotels together under a common chain identity. Also in 1958, Western Hotels assumed management of three hotels in Guatemala, its first properties outside the US and Canada. Western opened its first hotel in Mexico in 1961. In March of that same year, they opened the first hotel to be both constructed and owned by the chain, The Bayshore Inn in Vancouver.
Edward Carlson became President of the chain in 1960 and is credited with bringing the
Century 21 Exposition
The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) was a world's fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962, in Seattle, Washington, United States.Stuttgart TV Tower, was the origin of the Space Needle. The chain managed the restaurant atop the
Space Needle
The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a Seattle landmark. Located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, it was built in the Seattle Cente ...
from its opening until 1982. Western Hotels also managed a floating hotel aboard the ocean liner , docked in Seattle harbor during the fair.
Western International Hotels
The company was renamed Western International Hotels in January 1963, to reflect its growth outside the US. That same year, the company went public.
From November 1, 1965, to 1970, Western International had an agreement with Hotel Corporation of America (today known as Sonesta), under which all 72 hotels of the two chains were jointly marketed as ''HCA and Western Hotels''.
From 1968 to 1973, Western International had a similar joint marketing agreement with UK-based Trust House Hotels.
In 1970, Western International was acquired by
UAL Corporation
UAL Corporation is the former name of United Airlines Holdings, an airline holding company, incorporated in Delaware with headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. UAL held a 100 percent controlling interest in United Airlines, Inc., one of the worl ...
, with Edward Carlson becoming president and CEO of UAL, Inc and United Airlines.
Western International bought New York's iconic
Plaza Hotel
The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, ...
in 1975 for $25 million.
Westin Hotels
On January 5, 1981, the company changed its name again to Westin Hotels (a contraction of the words Western International). The chain's flagship Washington Plaza Hotel in Seattle was the first property to be rebranded, becoming The Westin Hotel on September 1, 1981. That same year, Westin opened a new corporate headquarters directly across the street in the
Westin Building
The Westin Building Exchange is a major telecommunications hub facility located downtown Seattle, Washington. The building was constructed in 1981 as the Westin Building, housing the corporate offices of Westin Hotels, which was then based in Sea ...
, which shared a parking garage with the hotel.
In 1987, UAL chairman Richard Ferris announced a plan to reorganize UAL as Allegis Corporation, a travel
conglomerate
Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to:
* Conglomerate (company)
* Conglomerate (geology)
* Conglomerate (mathematics)
In popular culture:
* The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes
** ...
based around
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
,
Hertz Rent a Car
The Hertz Corporation is an American car rental company based in Estero, Florida. The company operates its namesake Hertz brand, along with the brands Dollar Rent A Car, Firefly Car Rental and Thrifty Car Rental.
It is one of the three big rent ...
. This strategy failed, however, and Allegis sold Westin in 1988 to the Japanese
Aoki Corporation
Aoki Corporation was a Japanese construction company founded in 1947. It built many projects in Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and also invested in non-construction businesses, like hotels. It previously owned the Westin Hotels chain. The company, ...
for $1.35 billion. Aoki immediately sold the Plaza Hotel to
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
for $390 million.
In 1994, Aoki agreed to sell Westin to real estate investment firm
Starwood Capital Group
Starwood Capital Group is an investment firm headquartered in Miami Beach, Florida. It is managed by Barry Sternlicht. It was co-founded by Sternlicht and Robert Faith in 1991. In 1993, Faith left Starwood to found Greystar Real Estate Partne ...
(parent of
Starwood
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. was one of the largest companies that owned, operated, franchised and managed hotels, resorts, spas, residences, and vacation ownership properties. It was acquired by Marriott International in 2016.
...
) and
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, Ho ...
at an enormous loss, for $561 million, but by the time the sale closed in May 1995, the buyers had negotiated the price down to $537 million. In 1998, Starwood assumed full ownership of the company.
In 2016,
Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging including hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. The company was founded by ...
acquired
Starwood
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. was one of the largest companies that owned, operated, franchised and managed hotels, resorts, spas, residences, and vacation ownership properties. It was acquired by Marriott International in 2016.
...
, becoming the world's largest hotel company.
Amenities
Westin was the first hotel chain to introduce guest credit cards (in 1946), 24-hour room service (1969), and personal voice mail in each room (1991).
In 1999, Westin began selling the ''Heavenly Bed'' mattresses featured in Westin properties, and manufactured by
Simmons Bedding Company
The Simmons Bedding Company is an American major manufacturer of mattresses and related bedding products, based in Atlanta, Georgia. The company was founded in 1870, and is one of the oldest companies of its kind in the United States. Simmons' fla ...
, to the general public. In 2005, Westin partnered with
Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and ...
, which carried the mattresses and bedding in its stores. In 2011, Westin began selling the ''Heavenly'' mattresses and bedding at
Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn is an American upscale home furnishing store chain and e-commerce company, with retail stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Australia. Pottery Barn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
The company is hea ...
stores.
Accommodations
Notable hotels
*
The Westin Dhaka
The Westin Dhaka is a Westin Hotel located at Gulshan Avenue in Dhaka. Its address is Plot-01, Road-45, Gulshan-2, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh. At , it is the tallest hotel in Bangladesh, and one of the tallest hotels in South Asia. It has 27 floo ...
* The Westin Seattle – The first and original Westin branded hotel, iconic cylindrical towers scaling the Seattle skyline
*
The Westin Charlotte
The Westin Charlotte is a tall high-rise in Charlotte, North Carolina, designed by John C. Portman. It was built in 2003 and has 25 floors. It is the largest hotel in Charlotte, with 700 rooms, more than of convention space, and a ballroom.
Se ...
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. Th ...
* The Westin Singapore – has the highest hotel lobby in Singapore
* The Westin St. Francis – San Francisco hotel on Union Square
*
The Westin Excelsior, Rome
The Westin Excelsior, Rome, is a luxury hotel on the Via Veneto in Rome, Italy. It opened in 1906.
History
The Hotel Excelsior opened on January 17, 1906. It was constructed by the Actiengesellschaft für Hotelunternehmungen, based in Lucerne, S ...
– The Villa La Cupola Suite, billed at per night, is listed at number 8 on ''World's 15 most expensive hotel suites'' compiled by CNN Go in 2012.
* The Westin Palace Madrid
*
The Westin San Jose
The Westin San Jose, housed in the historic Sainte Claire Hotel, is a six-story landmark hotel in Downtown San Jose, California, United States. Built in 1926, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and one of the city's most recog ...
– Formerly the Saint Claire and Hyatt Saint Claire.
* The Westin Hamburg – opened in 2016 and located in Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie concert hall
* The Westin Hotel in downtown Minneapolis has been sold.
*
Walt Disney World Swan
The Walt Disney World Swan is a resort hotel located between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios in the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, and across from its sister resort, the Walt Disney World Dolphin. Both hotels were designe ...
Walt Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...
* The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina – opened in 2008