Westin Hotels & Resorts

Westin Hotels & Resorts

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Hospitality
Founded	1930
Founder	Severt W. Thurston, Frank Dupar, Peter Schmidt, Adolph Schmidt
Headquarters	Seattle , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Edward Carlson (former president)
Products	Hotels, resorts, hospitality services
Owner	Marriott International
Parent	Marriott International
Website	www.westin.com

Westin Hotels & Resorts is a premium American hotel brand under the ownership of Marriott International. As of , Westin manages 226 locations worldwide, offering 82,608 guest rooms, alongside 58 additional hotels with 15,741 rooms currently underway.

Western Hotels

Amid the economic challenges of the Great Depression in 1930, Seattle-based hoteliers Severt W. Thurston and Frank Dupar created a management company to unify their hotel assets. Collaborating with Peter and Adolph Schmidt, they founded Western Hotels, initially overseeing 17 establishments across Washington and Idaho.

By 1931, Western Hotels extended its reach to Vancouver, British Columbia, and Portland, Oregon; in 1939 it entered Alaska; followed by California in 1941; Utah in 1949; and Montana in 1950. In 1949, the company enhanced its dining services by partnering with Victor "Trader Vic" Bergeron to introduce franchised Trader Vic's restaurants within its hotels.

The acquisition of Seattle’s renowned Olympic Hotel in 1955 marked Western’s flagship property and headquarters relocation. The chain ventured into Hawaii in 1956 through management of the Hawaiian Village Hotel.

In 1958, Western consolidated many of its hotels under a single corporate entity to reinforce brand cohesion. That same year saw its first overseas expansion into Guatemala. The company’s inaugural fully owned and purpose-built property, The Bayshore Inn in Vancouver, opened its doors in 1961.

Edward Carlson assumed the presidency in 1960 and was instrumental in securing the Century 21 Exposition (the 1962 World's Fair) for Seattle. His design contributions included the Space Needle's revolving restaurant, which Western Hotels operated until 1982. Additionally, during the fair, Western managed a floating hotel aboard a moored ocean liner in Seattle harbor.

Western International Hotels

In January 1963, reflecting its growth beyond American borders, the company was renamed Western International Hotels. It went public on the American Stock Exchange during the mid-1960s. Between 1965 and 1970, it collaborated with Hotel Corporation of America (currently Sonesta) to jointly promote a portfolio of 72 hotels under the brand HCA and Western Hotels. From 1968 to 1973, a similar marketing alliance existed with UK-based Trust House Hotels. In 1970, Western International was acquired by UAL Corporation, with Edward Carlson appointed as president and CEO of both UAL, Inc. and United Airlines.

The purchase of New York’s iconic Plaza Hotel for $25 million occurred in 1975 under Western International's ownership.

Westin Hotels

On January 5, 1981, the company adopted the name Westin Hotels, derived from Western International. The Washington Plaza Hotel in Seattle became the first property rebranded as The Westin Hotel on September 1, 1981. That year also saw the opening of Westin’s new corporate offices located in the Westin Building opposite the hotel.

In 1987, UAL chairman Richard Ferris attempted to restructure UAL into Allegis Corporation—a travel conglomerate combining United Airlines, Hertz Rent a Car, Hilton International Hotels, and Westin under Apollo’s umbrella. This initiative was unsuccessful; consequently, Allegis divested Westin in 1988 to Japan’s Aoki Corporation for $1.35 billion. Aoki quickly sold the Plaza Hotel to Donald Trump for $390 million.

In 1994, Aoki agreed to sell Westin at a substantial loss to real estate investment firm Starwood Capital Group (parent company of Starwood) alongside Goldman Sachs for $561 million; the transaction finalized at $537 million in 1995. Starwood took full control by 1998.

The acquisition of Starwood by Marriott International in 2016 resulted in the formation of the largest hotel company worldwide.

Amenities

Westin has been at the forefront of hospitality advancements, introducing innovations such as guest credit cards in 1946, around-the-clock room service in 1969, and personalized in-room voicemail systems in 1991. In 1999, the brand started offering its renowned Heavenly Bed mattresses, produced by Simmons Bedding Company. This product line further expanded through collaborations with retailers like Nordstrom in 2005 and Pottery Barn in 2011, broadening Westin’s reach beyond its hotel services.

Accommodations

		North America	Europe	Middle E. & Africa	Asia & Pacific	Caribbean Latin Am.	Total
2016	Properties	125	19	9	51	13	217
	Rooms	51,705	6,241	2,934	16,299	4,070	81,249
2017	Properties	128	19	9	53	12	221
	Rooms	52,722	6,183	2,934	16,704	3,645	82,188
2018	Properties	129	19	7	56	12	223
	Rooms	52,955	6,125	1,839	17,595	3,639	82,153
2019	Properties	130	18	7	58	12	225
	Rooms	53,097	6,024	1,839	17,872	3,640	82,472
2020	Properties	130	17	7	58	13	225
	Rooms	52,705	5,686	1,839	17,751	3,819	81,800
2021	Properties	133	18	7	61	13	232
	Rooms	54,009	5,973	1,838	18,478	3,813	84,111
2022	Properties	132	18	8	63	14	235
	Rooms	53,756	5,968	2,030	19,450	3,955	85,159
2023	Properties	134	17	8	69	15	243
	Rooms	54,820	5,787	2,030	21,173	4,347	88,157

Notable hotels

• The Westin Dhaka
• The Westin Seattle
• The Westin Zagreb
• The Westin Charlotte
• The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites Los Angeles
• Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa
• The Westin Peachtree Plaza Atlanta
• The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit
• The Westin Nova Scotian – Located in Halifax, Nova Scotia
• The Westin St. Francis – Situated on San Francisco's Union Square as a flagship property
• The Westin Excelsior, Rome – Home to The Villa La Cupola Suite; one of the priciest hotel suites worldwide at
• The Westin San Jose – Previously known as Saint Claire and Hyatt Saint Claire
• Walt Disney World Swan
• Westin Virginia Beach Town Center