Starwood Forecasts Lower 2009 Profit as Travel Slows | bloomberg.com

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., the third-largest U.S. lodging company, said profit will fall in 2008 and 2009 as the slumping global economy erodes travel spending faster than it anticipated. The forecasts signal that the deterioration in leisure and business travel is accelerating as corporations and consumers contend with higher food prices, declining home values, job losses and scarce credit. Chief Executive Officer Frits van Paasschen, one year into the job, has responded by cutting jobs, shutting sales centers and trimming expenses at Starwood's Sheraton and Westin hotels.