I had the opportunity to speak with Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson on Monday, the same day his company announced its deal to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which will make it the first company to reach more than 1 million rooms and becoming the overwhelmingly biggest hotel operator in the world. Arne sounded horse and tired by the time we spoke at about 4 p.m. eastern time – not at all surprising given I was likely about the 20th media interview he did after the morning announcement that stunned the industry. Twice during the seven-month Starwood strategic review Marriott claimed it wasn’t interested in buying Starwood. But after Starwood’s announced sale of its timeshare unit and 15% in its stock price Marriott reconsidered and quickly pounced on the opportunity, no doubt outbidding numerous potential suitors.

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