Perhaps I'm biased, but this may very well be my favorite brand in the Starwood portfolio. I grew up in Le Méridien hotels pre-Starwood and yes, they were truly a bit aimless in the early 2000s when they were stuck between pushing French-inspired luxury to their ill-fated Art+Tech campaign [anyone remember that?]. I feel that Starwood spent the last eleven years doing an incredible job studying, refining and completely reinventing Le Méridien to give it [purely my own opinion here] a very distinct identity, image and design direction. They've invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the brand and with all the worldwide property renovations, signings/cullings and expansion plans they're conducting across their current and pipeline portfolio, I would sincerely hope that Marriott won't look at it as a hobbled legacy brand but will recognize its strength and potential and invest in it further.

Le Méridien's nearest competitor in the Marriott portfolio is without a doubt Renaissance, a similarly-sized brand I personally have felt was always awkward and misplaced. It struggled with being a quirky Marriott alternative and very recently, it's being repositioned with an art and destination direction with a lot of similar marketing verbiage that Le Méridien uses... Coincidence? I think not.

I personally think that Marriott has its work cut out for it across every aspect of the largest merger in the hospitality industry. Between Le Méridien and Renaissance [and again, in my opinion], Le Méridien has the stronger case between the two with a more renowned name, more alluring brand image, clearer direction and a solid identity; I feel like Renaissance is playing catchup while Le Méridien is running further ahead as it gets more polished.

I would be very sad to see this brand go, but I'm holding out hope. Nobody is going anywhere for the time being, but still - may the forces that be work the best out.

khabah