Sheraton Hotels and Resorts

Sheraton Hotels and Resorts

File:Sheraton (1).svg
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Hospitality
Founded	1937 (1937) Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Founders	Ernest Henderson Robert Lowell Moore
Headquarters	Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Number of locations	463 (September 2020)
Number of employees	145,000
Parent	Marriott International
Website	sheraton.marriott.com

Sheraton Hotels and Resorts represents a global American hotel brand under the ownership of Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton manages 446 properties worldwide, comprising 155,617 guest rooms across regions including North America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. Additionally, there are 84 hotels with 23,092 rooms currently in development.

Early years

The roots of Sheraton date back to 1933 when Harvard alumni Ernest Henderson and Robert Lowell Moore purchased the Continental Hotel located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 1937, they established Standard Equities Corporation to consolidate their assets and acquired their second property, the Stonehaven Hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts—recognized as the official founding year of Sheraton and its inaugural hotel.

The Sheraton brand name originated from their third acquisition in Boston in 1939, which already bore a prominent "Hotel Sheraton" sign. Rather than rebranding it, Henderson and Moore chose to adopt the Sheraton name for all their hotels. The name is believed to be inspired by the furniture designer Thomas Sheraton.

Following the purchase of Boston’s esteemed Copley Plaza Hotel in 1941, Henderson and Moore accelerated their expansion along the U.S. East Coast.

In 1946, Standard Equities merged with United States Realty and Improvement Corporation to form the Sheraton Corporation of America, which made history as the first hotel chain to be publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange in 1947.

Expansion

Sheraton made its initial international move in 1949 by acquiring Ford Hotels, which included three Canadian properties in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. The company quickly sold the Toronto and Ottawa locations to fund further growth within Canada by purchasing six Cardy Hotels properties across Ontario and Quebec in 1950. Notably, in April 1951, New York City’s Park Sheraton Hotel was the venue for the NBA draft of that year.

In 1956, Sheraton expanded significantly by acquiring the Eppley Hotel Company for $30 million. At that time, Eppley was the largest privately owned hotel business in America with 22 hotels spread over six Midwestern states. Sheraton retained ten key properties while divesting the remainder. That same year marked Sheraton’s entry into the motel sector with two suburban Syracuse locations. The following year saw the opening of its first newly constructed hotel—the Philadelphia Sheraton Hotel. In 1958, Sheraton pioneered Reservatron, becoming the first hotel chain to implement a centralized electronic reservation system—a technological innovation that enhanced its competitive position.

In 1959, Sheraton launched its first overseas properties beyond North America with four hotels situated on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu: Moana Hotel, Royal Hawaiian Hotel, SurfRider Hotel, and Princess Kaiulani Hotel. Additionally, that year it opened its first newly built motel—the Sheraton Inn in Binghamton, New York.

The early 1960s witnessed further international expansion with openings such as the Sheraton-Tel Aviv Hotel (1961), followed by two Caribbean locations: Sheraton-Kingston Hotel in Jamaica and Sheraton British Colonial in Nassau, Bahamas (both established in 1962). In that same year, Sheraton introduced a franchise division dedicated to operating Sheraton Motor Inns—large-scale highway motels featuring complimentary parking.

Growth continued with Sheraton entering South America through Macuto-Sheraton near Caracas (1963) and reaching a milestone of its 100th property with the opening of Sheraton-Boston Hotel (1965). In 1966, it debuted its first hotel within an Arab nation—the Kuwait-Sheraton. By 1967, technological advancement continued with Reservatron II, which improved personalized reservation capabilities. That year also marked Sheraton’s expansion into Asia (Sheraton-Philippines Hotel in Manila), Europe (Sheraton-Du Cap Hotel on Corsica), and Australia (two Motor Hotels located in Melbourne and Sydney), solidifying its presence as a global hospitality leader.

Acquisition by ITT

In 1968, the global conglomerate ITT Corporation purchased Sheraton and quickly divested eighteen outdated properties. During ITT's tenure, Sheraton transitioned from directly owning and managing hotels to focusing on franchising and management agreements, leading to considerable growth both domestically and internationally.

By late 1969, Sheraton pioneered the hotel sector's first nationwide toll-free reservation system, replacing multiple local phone numbers. The catchy radio slogan "Eight-Oh-Oh, Three-Two-Five, Three-Five Three-Five" became a staple marketing tool throughout the 1970s and beyond.

The year 1970 saw the introduction of the Sheraton Towers concept—offering upscale "hotel-within-a-hotel" suites designed for business clientele—first launched at the flagship Sheraton-Boston Hotel. That same year marked Sheraton's debut in North Africa with the opening of the Cairo-Sheraton Hotel & Casino. Further international ventures included the chain’s initial Continental European hotels in Stockholm and Copenhagen in 1971, along with its first property in Sub-Saharan Africa located in Yaounde, Cameroon in 1972. Between 1977 and 1997, Sheraton’s corporate headquarters were situated at 60 State Street in Boston.

In 1985, Sheraton became the inaugural Western hotel brand to manage a property in China by operating the Great Wall Hotel in Beijing—a joint Chinese-American enterprise later renamed the Great Wall Sheraton.

By 1987, The New York Times acknowledged Sheraton as an industry pioneer with a fifty-year legacy and recognized it as the largest hotel chain worldwide driven by consumer-focused strategies.

On October 24, 1989, Sheraton officially adopted the name ITT Sheraton to align with its parent company’s branding.

Expansion during the 1990s

On January 13, 1992, ITT Sheraton designated a group of 28 elite hotels along with 33 Sheraton Towers properties as part of the ITT Sheraton Luxury Collection, with The St Regis New York serving as its flagship property. In 1994, ITT Sheraton acquired majority control over Italy’s CIGA chain, which had faced financial difficulties due to overexpansion in Europe. Most CIGA hotels were incorporated into the Luxury Collection while others continued operating under the Sheraton brand.

April 1995 marked the launch of Four Points by Sheraton, a mid-tier brand introduced to replace the existing Sheraton Inns portfolio.

Acquisition by Starwood

In 1998, Starwood Hotels and Resorts purchased ITT Sheraton for $13.3 billion, outbidding Hilton. Under Starwood’s strategic management, Sheraton underwent extensive renovations and broadened its international presence. The Luxury Collection was promoted as a distinct brand, leading to most former Sheraton-branded hotels being rebranded; only three remain under the Sheraton name today: Sheraton Addis (Ethiopia), Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit (Thailand), and Sheraton Kuwait.

Also in 1998, Sheraton collaborated with Arabella Hospitality Group to establish ArabellaSheraton, rebranding fourteen hotels across Germany, Switzerland, and Spain. By 1999, Sheraton had gained full ownership of CIGA.

In 2015, Starwood launched "Sheraton Grand," a premium segment aimed at premier urban and resort destinations to enhance brand prestige and market share.

Acquisition by Marriott

In 2016, Marriott International completed its purchase of Starwood Hotels, resulting in the formation of the largest hotel and resort enterprise worldwide. Although Sheraton continues to enjoy a solid reputation for quality across Asia, the brand’s older properties have hindered its performance within the United States market.

Marriott introduced Four Points Express by Sheraton in 2023, a midscale hotel brand aimed at the Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions, debuting with its initial location in Nilüfer, Bursa, Turkey. In 2024, this brand underwent a rebranding to become Four Points Flex by Sheraton.

Accommodations

		North America	Europe	Middle E. & Africa	Asia & Pacific	Caribbean Latin Am.	Total
2016	Number of Properties	196	62	30	123	38	449
	Total Rooms	74,350	17,069	10,015	47,207	10,183	158,824
2017	Number of Properties	192	62	30	122	35	441
	Total Rooms	73,074	16,847	10,236	46,143	9,450	155,750
2018	Number of Properties	190	61	31	123	36	441
	Total Rooms	72,674	16,580	10,408	46,073	9,882	155,617
2019	Number of Properties	189	62	31	130	35	447
	Total Rooms	72,039	17,054	9,910	47,878	9,682	156,563
2020	Number of Properties	183	62	30	136	31	442
	Total Rooms	70,245	16,900	9,299	49,399	8,613	154,456
2021	Number of Properties	178	57	33	139	30	437
	Total Rooms	68,824	16,008	9,699	50,315	8,396	153,242
2022	Number of Properties	172	50	33	146	29	430
	Total Rooms	66,621	14,096	9,516	52,487	8,226	150,946
2023	Number of Properties	168	51	32	155	30	436
	Total Rooms	64,923	14,279	9,234	55,316	8,442	152,194

See also

• Eppley Hotel Company
• List of chained-brand hotels
• List of lists of hotels
• Hawaii Bowl