Who Owns Sheraton Hotels The Brand, the Buildings, and the Company Behind Both

If you are asking who owns Sheraton hotels, the answer is Marriott International. Marriott acquired Sheraton in 2016 through its purchase of Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Sheraton is now one of more than 30 brands inside Marriott's global portfolio but what that ownership means in practice is worth unpacking.

Who Owns Sheraton Hotels Right Now

Marriott International. Full stop. The brand has been under Marriott's ownership since late 2016, when Marriott completed a $13.3 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels and Resorts the company that had owned Sheraton since 1998. With that deal, Marriott absorbed Sheraton along with several other well-known brands including Westin, W Hotels, St. Regis, and Le Méridien.

Marriott International is a publicly traded US company, listed on NASDAQ under the ticker MAR and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. In that sense, Sheraton's ultimate owners are Marriott's shareholders but the practical decision-making authority over the brand sits firmly with Marriott's executive leadership.

Sheraton is one of Marriott's largest brands by property count 431 hotels and over 150,000 rooms as of December 2024. It's also Marriott's most internationally distributed brand, with a particularly strong presence in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe. Guests who stay at Sheraton earn and redeem points through Marriott Bonvoy, the company's loyalty program that unifies all its brands.

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Brand Ownership vs. Property Ownership: An Important Distinction

Here's something most people don't realize when they ask about hotel ownership. There are actually two separate questions buried inside one. Who owns the Sheraton brand? And who owns each individual Sheraton hotel building?

The answers are often different.

Marriott Owns the Brand Most Buildings Belong to Others

Marriott operates what the industry calls an asset-light model. This means Marriott owns and manages the Sheraton brand its name, standards, reservation systems, loyalty integration, training frameworks but the physical hotel buildings are typically owned by independent third parties.

These investors range from real estate investment trusts and private equity firms to regional hospitality companies and family-owned developers.Those property owners license the Sheraton name and systems from Marriott through one of two arrangements.

Franchise Agreement

The property owner pays Marriott a fee to operate under the Sheraton brand and use its systems. The owner's own team runs the hotel day-to-day. Marriott sets and enforces brand standards but doesn't manage the hotel directly.

Management Contract

The property owner hires Marriott to operate the hotel on their behalf. Marriott sends in its own management team, and the owner receives a portion of revenues or profits. The guest experience is effectively the same either way the operational setup behind the scenes is what differs.

What's often overlooked is that this means two Sheraton hotels in the same city can have entirely different ownership groups, different levels of renovation investment, and different physical conditions all under the same brand flag. That explains why guest experiences can vary more than you'd expect across Sheraton properties, particularly in the US market.

Does Marriott Directly Own Any Sheraton Properties?

Yes, in some cases. Marriott has directly acquired specific Sheraton properties as part of its brand transformation strategy  purchasing a hotel, renovating it to new brand standards, then using it as a showcase model to encourage franchise owners to upgrade their own properties. This is intentional and relatively limited. The vast majority of Sheratons remain independently owned.

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Sheraton Ownership History: From Founders to Marriott

Sheraton has passed through three distinct ownership eras since it was founded in 1937. Each left a different imprint on how the brand looks and operates today.

1937–1968: Founded by Henderson and Moore

Ernest Henderson and Robert Moore created the Sheraton brand through a company called Standard Equities Corporation. The name itself was practical rather than deliberate it came from a large illuminated sign on one of their early Boston hotel acquisitions that read "Sheraton Hotel." They kept it.

Henderson had a distinct strategy. He bought undervalued hotel properties, often during economic downturns, and treated them as real estate assets rather than hospitality operations. By 1945, Sheraton had become the first hotel chain listed on the New York Stock Exchange. By the early 1960s it was the largest hotel owner not just operator in the United States.

A meaningful distinction.Henderson died in 1967. Without him, the company went up for sale.

1968–1998: ITT Corporation and the Shift to Franchising

ITT Corporation a large US conglomerate at the time acquired Sheraton in 1968. ITT already had consumer service businesses in rental cars and airport parking, so a hotel chain made strategic sense.

Under ITT's management, Sheraton made a deliberate pivot. Instead of continuing Henderson's model of owning hotel properties outright, ITT sold off buildings and moved toward franchising and management contracts. The asset-light model that Marriott now applies globally was, in a sense, pioneered under ITT's stewardship of Sheraton.

ITT also expanded Sheraton's international reach substantially, particularly into Asia and the Middle East. In 1992, it launched The Luxury Collection, carving off Sheraton's most prestigious properties into a distinct premium tier. 

And in 1995, Four Points by Sheraton was introduced as a separate, more accessible brand. By the mid-1990s, ITT Sheraton was among the largest hotel companies in the world by room count.

1998–2016: Starwood Hotels and the Global Expansion

Starwood Hotels and Resorts acquired ITT Sheraton in 1998 for $13.3 billion, topping a competing bid from Hilton. Starwood was already building a multi-brand portfolio, and Sheraton gave it one of the most globally distributed hotel networks of any company at the time.

Starwood pushed renovation efforts and, in 2015, introduced the "Sheraton Grand" designation for higher-end urban and resort properties. Results were uneven. The brand performed well in China and across Asia-Pacific, where it had established genuine market leadership. 

In the US, inconsistent property quality and aging hotels made it harder to maintain brand coherence.In 2016, Starwood itself was acquired by Marriott International and Sheraton changed hands for the third time.

2016–Present: Marriott International Takes Ownership

Marriott's acquisition of Starwood closed in September 2016, making it the world's largest hotel company by room count at the time. Sheraton arrived as part of a package that also included Westin, W Hotels, St. Regis, Le Méridien, Aloft, and Element, among others.

From the start, Marriott publicly identified Sheraton's revitalization as a top priority. The company introduced a formal brand transformation strategy new guest room designs, updated public space concepts, and raised brand standards.

Hotel property owners in the US have committed an estimated $500 million toward renovations as part of that effort. Globally, Sheraton's performance in Asia has remained strong, while the US market repositioning continues to play out.

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Sheraton's Position Within Marriott's Portfolio Toda

Tier, Positioning, and Related Brands

Marriott organizes its brands across distinct tiers. Sheraton sits in the premium full-service tier above select-service and midscale brands, but below Marriott's luxury offerings like Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis. It sits alongside Westin, Renaissance, and Delta Hotels in that segment.

Four Points by Sheraton is a related but separate brand a select-service option at a lower price point, also within Marriott's portfolio. The two brands share a name but operate independently with different standards and target guests.

Scale and Global Footprint

431 hotels. Over 150,000 rooms. Present across North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America as of December 2024. By international distribution, Sheraton is Marriott's most global brand a legacy of ITT and Starwood's decades of expansion across Asia and the Middle East in particular.

China stands out. Sheraton established itself as one of the largest international hotel brands in China during the Starwood era, and that footprint has remained a core part of the brand's global identity under Marriott.

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Key Takeaways

Marriott International owns Sheraton acquired via Starwood in 2016. Marriott controls the brand; most individual hotel buildings are owned by independent investors. Founded in 1937, Sheraton passed through ITT and Starwood before joining the world's largest hotel company.

Frequently Asked Question

Is Sheraton part of Hilton Hotels?

No. Sheraton has no connection to Hilton. It is owned by Marriott International. This is one of the most common points of confusion likely because both are large, globally recognized hotel chains. Hilton is a separate, independently operated company with its own portfolio of brands.

Did Starwood previously own Sheraton?

Yes. Starwood Hotels and Resorts owned Sheraton from 1998 until Marriott's acquisition of Starwood in 2016. Starwood no longer exists as an independent company it was fully absorbed into Marriott International through that transaction.

Does Marriott own the actual Sheraton hotel buildings?

In most cases, no. Marriott owns the Sheraton brand and management system. The physical hotel properties are typically owned by independent investors REITs, private equity firms, or regional developers  operating under franchise or management agreements with Marriott.

Is Sheraton part of Marriott Bonvoy?

Yes. Sheraton is a fully participating brand in Marriott Bonvoy. Points earned at Sheraton properties count toward the same Bonvoy account as stays at any other Marriott brand, including Marriott Hotels, Westin, W Hotels, and Ritz-Carlton.

Who originally founded Sheraton Hotels?

Sheraton was founded in 1937 by Ernest Henderson and Robert Moore through Standard Equities Corporation. Henderson shaped the brand's early identity as a real estate-focused hotel company before ITT Corporation acquired the chain in 1968.