Hopefully this change applies to marketing only and not necessarily product development for the Le Meridien flag as I think the closer relationship to Westin would negate some of the work Starwood has done over the past few years to more distinctively position the brand (mostly evident in new and remodeled properties). I think Starwood has shown, through new or remodeled properties in Philadelphia, Dallas, Atlanta, Bangkok and Chiang Mai (and I can only assume the new Chicago suburb property) what a Le Meridien is supposed to look like-- contemporary, more minimalist, with a lot of whites, grays and beiges, with some red thrown in-- without resorting to make each property look exactly the same.

IMHO, what has brought Westin down a bit in the past decade or so is that Starwood took the concept of consistency too far at the new build or remodeled North American properties. I can be at the Westin in Chicago (Magnificent Mile), San Francisco (Market Street), DC (Georgetown, fka Grand), and the rooms will look virtually identical-- same furniture, carpeting, art, etc. It's basically a more upscale version of what I can expect from a Courtyard, but whereas in select service properties 100% consistency is considered a plus (to avoid anxiety of not knowing what you are going to get), I think for an "upper upscale" property it just comes across as cheap.