sbtinme

I think this is precisely correct. I'd only add this: In my eyes, no SPG brand has slipped in the past decade more than the Westin brand. Westin's existing properties, in far too many cases, have remained stagnant and somewhat dated.

Westin was once a brand filled with vitality and freshness, but it no longer is. I'm puzzled by this, frankly. I know that long-time Westin brand manager Sue Brush retired last year, so perhaps there are several new intiatives coming, but for too long now, the Westin brand has been slipped considerably down from where I would have ranked the brand in, say, 1995.

I think it's fair to say that in the 1990s, Westin was positioned as a low Luxury Brand. These days, it's more of a high-middle mainstream brand.