nicolas75

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/...cle1588226.ece

Mr Bazin was very upset not to buy Hilton at the time it was possible to get it at a decent price (and with strong Euro against US Dollar).

Now, things have changed, but not Mr Bazin's appetite for growth (and his ability to build complex financial plans).

It wil be of course a good opportunity to dramatically change Accor in terms of size, worldwide coverage and luxury segment.

Still, the integration of a so large and partly redundant brand portfolio seems very complex (not quite sure it might bring much value).

Churnman

It's sad, but understandable, that American companies end up wanting to buy or merge with companies outside the U.S. due to the unfavorable U.S. corporate tax laws. More and more keep seeking deals so they can get out from these corp. taxes as if they see no hope in the future of true reform. Starwood reportedly was looking at IHG since they are London based, but regulations would have been a big hurdle and both companies I'm sure could see that. Members of both U.S. parties as well as many big companies including Apple have said lawmakers need to do something to improve things for U.S. companies, but the biggest hurdle for lawmakers who want to reform is the current man with veto power. These merger rumors are a big sign to lawmakers, but nothing seems to happen in DC. What a mess. I'm independent.

vsteel4

I wonder what will happen to my Starpoints? Should I use them up quickly? Stop using my SPG Amex and move to another program?

Goldorak

Just sit back, have a glass of wine and relax ! Nothing will happen to your points.

RJ77

I agree. It will be a gargantuan task to integrate the brands of both groups, which inevitably will make some brands and properties redundant as they compete with each other head on in many markets. Hilton would have been a better fit with a simpler portfolio and a much larger coverage in the US compared to Starwood. There's less work to do for the US market if it goes with Hilton.

Personally I don't care for Starwood's brands of W, Westin, Le Meridien, Aloft and Four Points even though I really like their rewards programs.

IMH

There have been plenty more speculative articles in the past few days, all reachable via your usual search engine but in some cases hidden behind paywalls. One reasonably plausible prediction sees Starwood broken up and Accor possibly acquiring Le Meridien. I think most of us would welcome that collection of properties.

Looking elsewhere, wouldn't it be nice if Fairmont Raffles could be tempted to part with Swissôtel?

Meanwhile, this NY Times article from 1987 reminds us that Accor offered 905 million USD for Hilton in 1986 -- and only just lost out.

edgewood49

A special thanks to all that voted for the current administration !

gangtok slim

Do you mean to say "sit back and relax" because no matter what, points will devalue over time?

IMH

Welcome to FlyerTalk, vsteel4. I think most people here would advise against making any decisions about the best hotel chain(s) and loyalty programme(s) for you based on speculation about possible merger/acquisition activity.

kcaluwae

That wouldn't be a reason to sit back, would it. :-) Points do indeed devalue over time so if you have a significant amount use them! That would be my advise all the time, merger or not.

Regarding the merger. History has learned us that points will survive mergers.
And at this point it's even highly hypothetical that there will be a merger.
Once the merger would be approved you would still have plenty of time to use your points under the old terms as it will take some time for them to align both programs.

Accor and Starwood have very different programs. I'm interested to see what the result of the merger of these programs would be.

blue2002

Agreed. Points will pretty much stay as they are, for the time being (less the usual devaluation, no matter which program). I do wonder however how this could affect SPG lifetime status.

Goldorak

Imagine Accor is buying Starwood, this could be a good way to have this life-time status. I have suggested this to Accor people several times but so far, nothing :-:

RJ77

If this deal goes through, Accor has will likely grandfather this life time status. It's a liability to any hotel group in the long run. There's precedence of that in the airline industry.

edgewood49

IT would be akin to Yugo buying Rolls Royce

blue2002

and why is that?