As part of its ongoing asset-light strategy, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced it has sold The St. Regis, Rome to subsidiaries of Constellation Hotels Holding Limited for €110 million (approximately US$150.7 million). Starwood will continue to operate the hotel under the St. Regis brand flag as part of a new long-term management agreement.
The St. Regis, Rome was originally opened as the Grand Hotel in 1896 by César Ritz. Following a US$35 million refurbishment completed in 2000, The St. Regis, Rome became the first St. Regis hotel to open in Europe. Constellation is planning to complete further renovations to the property, including upgrades to all 161 guestrooms and suites and a redesign of the restaurant and lounge. In addition, improvements will be made to the hotel’s lobby, meeting space, business center and exterior façade.
“The St. Regis, Rome is an outstanding addition to our growing global portfolio of world-class assets in the world’s most desirable destinations,” said Zaki El Guiziri, CEO of Constellation.
“The sale of The St. Regis, Rome further advances Starwood’s asset-light strategy as we continue to seek the right owners and partners to create value for our shareholders and focus on growing our global fee business, and we are delighted to collaborate with Constellation Hotels Holding to ensure the future success of this extraordinary hotel,” said Simon Turner, president of global development for Starwood. “With the benefit of favorable market conditions, we are seeing strong interest in our remaining assets from a broad array of investors around the world.”