Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ fourth-quarter revenue was little-changed from a year earlier, and net profit fell largely on a one-time loss taken from the early redemption of some debt.
Starwood said Thursday that global revenue per available room (RevPAR), factoring out exchange-rate changes, advanced 4.1% from a year earlier. North America RevPAR increased 5.2%, while Latin America RevPAR rose 5.8%.
Some of those gains were offset by a decline in Europe, where RevPAR dropped 2.4% from a year earlier. RevPAR in Africa and the Middle East was unchanged.
Revenue was up $2 million from a year earlier to $1.53 billion, beating the $1.49 billion average estimate by analysts in a Thomson Reuters survey.
Starwood’s net income fell 15% from a year earlier to $142 million, as the company took a $113 million loss on early debt extinguishment.
Among Starwood’s brands, Four Points by Sheraton had a 5.9% increase in RevPAR, while W Hotels’ RevPAR was up 4.2%. Sheraton and Westin’s RevPAR each increased almost 4%.
The company forecast a first-quarter global RevPAR increase of between 4% and 6%.
Starwood also said Thursday that it reached an agreement with Delta, in which Starwood’s loyalty members will gain benefits with the carrier, and vice versa.
Among other benefits, Starwood Preferred Guest members will get their first bags checked free on Delta as well as priority check-in and boarding privileges.
Delta SkyMiles Medallion members will get late checkout allowances and free WiFi at Starwood’s hotels. The benefits start next month.
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