Last year, SH Hotels & Resorts officially rebranded as Starwood Hotels, reviving the iconic hospitality name that founder and chairman Barry Sternlicht established in 1995. The company operates the 1 Hotels, Baccarat and Treehouse brands, with expansion underway across all three flags. Hotels editor Christina Jelski sat down with Starwood Hotels CEO Raul Leal during last month's Americas Lodging Investment Summit to discuss the group's expansion strategy and 1 Hotels' new loyalty program.
Raul Leal
Q: Can you provide a quick recap of 2025's openings as well as a pipeline update?
A: It was a big year. We had five openings last year; we opened a Treehouse in Manchester, Treehouse in Sunnyvale, 1 Hotel Seattle, 1 Hotel Melbourne and 1 Hotel Copenhagen. And then this year, we have 1 Hotel Tokyo opening in March, then the 1 Hotel Austin, a Treehouse in Adelaide in Australia and then hopefully a Baccarat in Rome by December. Rome [timing] is tricky, but it's coming together.
Q: You also recently announced a 1 Hotels project in New York's Hudson Valley. What's the strategy there?
A: I think we're probably going to start to double down on things like Hudson Valley and integrate 1 Hotels into more nature-driven environments. If they're in the right place, we can make them work. I think you have the Amans of the world, which are very super-high-end [in these types of locations], and then there's a gap there. The Hudson Valley property will have an amazing wellness component and sit on a beautiful lake. It's about two hours from New York City. And there'll be lots of activations, concerts and things like that.
Q: How critical is that type of programming?
A: We probably program more than anybody. 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay is a great example. At that resort, there are around 450 activations a month. There's wellness, food and beverage, education, things with our local community. People definitely take advantage of the programs and events. We'll bring in things like a night market and so forth. And the guests also love it, but something like 60% of our food-and-beverage business [comes from the] local community.
Q: Where does Baccarat expansion stand?
A: There's lots of growth coming. I mentioned Rome, and we have more that are under production. We're building an island for a hotel in the Maldives. It's something like a three-mile-long island, and it'll have a golf course. The difference between other [Maldives] resorts is that this one will be very close to the main island. And there'll be a massive, beautiful Baccarat yacht to take people back and forth, instead of a seaplane. Then there's Dubai coming, there's Miami coming, and Florence is coming. And there's another location that I can't announce yet but is also underway.
Q: 1 Hotels recently launched its Mission Membership loyalty program, which donates a percentage of qualifying stays to nonprofits. How has it been received?
A: It has exceeded expectations, from my perspective. We're affiliated with Oceanic Global and a couple of other charities we give back to. But [the program is also] really about recognition and making sure people get perks and upgrades. And all of that starts right away; there's no number of stays that you have to stay or different hoops [you need to jump through] in order to get those benefits. And then hopefully you also feel better because you're giving back. It's growing pretty significantly. (Editor's note: Starwood announced on Feb. 11 that membership in the loyalty program has eclipsed 250,000.)