W Hotels

W Hotels is an American hotel chain founded by Starwood Hotels and Resorts but now owned by Marriott International operating around 70 upscale hotels and long-stay apartment facilites worldwide.

History
W Hotels was launched in 1998 with W New York, a conversion of the former Doral Inn hotel on Lexington Avenue, Manhattan. Barry Sternlicht, then CEO of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Hotels 1995–2005, created the brand. The concept included dark, muted colors, brushed metal, hotel staff in black T-shirts, photographs, and a bar. His demand for all-white bedding required manufacturers to develop white fabric that stayed clean without weekly dry cleaning. Many properties are co-located with luxury apartments known as "Residences at the W", such as W Boston and W Austin. About 3 in 10 W Hotels have Residences.

The earlier W Hotels in the U.S. were renovations of existing hotels within the Starwood group. Replacing the lobby with the "living room" concept, where guests could gather at the bar, differed from the traditional hotel. Although W Hotels receives credit for the idea, the underlying concept was once common. In the 1800s, the lobby provided a social gathering point in most communities. In earlier eras, the bar was often unseparated from the lobby. In 2001, Starwood added W New York - Times Square, a design model for the rapid expansion of properties in the United States over the next decade.

W Hotels opened its first hotel in Europe in Istanbul in May 2008. Within the renovated Akaretler Row Houses, a group of historic structures built in the 1870s to house the employees of the Dolmabahçe Palace. Opened in October 2009, W Barcelona hotel was W's first in Western Europe.

In September 2016, Marriott incorporated the W chain into its own portfolio as part of its acquisition of Starwood.