travel
Who Owns Sheraton? Marriott Owns the Brand, Not Most of Its 431 Hotels
In brief
Sheraton is owned by Marriott, but most Sheraton hotels are not owned by Marriott
For the 2025 reference year, Sheraton is a hotel brand owned and controlled by Marriott International, Inc., the public company behind Marriott Bonvoy. Marriott acquired Sheraton when it bought Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in 2016, a merger Marriott records in its investor materials as closing on September 23, 2016 marriott.gcs-web.com. The key distinction is that Marriott owns the Sheraton brand and system; many individual Sheraton buildings are owned by separate hotel owners and operated under Marriott management or franchise agreements.
The brand owner is Marriott International; the real estate owner can change from hotel to hotel.
The owner today: Marriott controls Sheraton
Sheraton is owned by Marriott International, Inc., a Delaware-incorporated company whose Class A common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker MAR sec.gov. In Marriott’s own 2024 Form 10-K, Sheraton appears inside the company’s premium brand portfolio, with 431 Sheraton properties and 150,640 rooms at year-end 2024 sec.gov. Marriott also says its brand names, trademarks, service marks, trade names and logos are important to its business and that it registers and protects that intellectual property where appropriate sec.gov.
| Layer | Who owns or controls it | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Sheraton brand | Marriott International | Marriott controls the Sheraton name, brand standards, booking system and loyalty connection sec.gov. |
| Hotel buildings | Often third-party owners | Marriott says its managed hotels are generally operated under long-term agreements with hotel owners, while franchise and license agreements let owners use Marriott lodging brand names and systems sec.gov. |
| Public company control | Marriott shareholders and board | Marriott is publicly traded, with the Marriott family, Vanguard and BlackRock listed among large beneficial holders in the 2025 proxy statement sec.gov. |
How Sheraton became part of Marriott
Sheraton is older than its current parent company structure. The brand describes itself as a travel leader since 1937 and says it now connects travelers at more than 400 locations across more than 70 countries sheraton.marriott.com. Before Marriott, Sheraton was part of Starwood. Marriott’s historical materials state that Starwood completed the acquisition of ITT Corporation in February 1998, and that ITT included Sheraton, Compagnia Italiana Grandi Alberghi and Caesars gaming marriott.gcs-web.com.
The final ownership shift came in the Marriott-Starwood merger. Marriott says it announced its plan to acquire Starwood on November 16, 2015; Marriott and Starwood stockholders approved the transaction on April 8, 2016; and the merger closed on September 23, 2016 marriott.gcs-web.com. That transaction brought Starwood brands such as Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, St. Regis, Le Méridien, Aloft and Four Points into Marriott’s system. It also made the ownership question less about one hotel chain buying another set of buildings and more about a public hospitality group adding a large brand and contract platform.
This is why the simple answer, “Marriott owns Sheraton,” is correct but incomplete. Marriott owns the brand. It does not mean Marriott owns every Sheraton hotel building. In modern lodging, brand ownership, property ownership and hotel operation are often split among different parties.
Sheraton is best understood as Marriott-owned intellectual property attached to hotels that may be owned by many different real estate investors.
The corporate structure behind Sheraton
At the top is Marriott International, the public company. Beneath that sits a portfolio of lodging brands, including Sheraton. Beneath the brand sit individual properties, which can be managed, franchised, licensed, owned, leased or residential. Marriott’s 2024 Form 10-K shows the scale of this system: at year-end 2024, Marriott had 9,361 properties and 1,706,331 rooms across its system sec.gov. Within that system, the company reported 1,981 managed properties, 7,192 franchised, licensed and other properties, 51 owned or leased properties and 137 branded residential properties sec.gov.
The practical result is an asset-light business model. Marriott can own the Sheraton brand and standards, operate some hotels for owners, franchise other hotels to owners, and collect fees without necessarily owning the land and building. Marriott says its company-operated properties include hotels under long-term management agreements with hotel owners and hotels that Marriott owns or leases sec.gov. It also says franchise, license and other arrangements permit hotel owners and third parties to use many Marriott lodging brand names and systems sec.gov.
Brand owner
Marriott International: owns and protects the Sheraton brand, places it inside Marriott Bonvoy, sets brand standards and receives fees from managed, franchised or licensed hotels sec.gov.
Property owner
Hotel owner or investor: often owns the building and signs a management, franchise or license agreement that lets the property trade under the Sheraton name and use Marriott systems sec.gov.
Money & control at Marriott and Sheraton
Marriott’s economics come mainly from fees and systems rather than owning most hotels outright. In 2024, Marriott reported $25.1 billion in consolidated revenue and $5.067 billion in net fee revenues sec.gov. Its franchise fees were $3.113 billion in 2024, while base management fees were $1.288 billion and incentive management fees were $769 million sec.gov. For franchised hotels, Marriott says it generally receives an initial application fee and continuing royalty fees, typically four to seven percent of room revenues, plus for certain brands up to four percent of food and beverage revenues sec.gov.
Voting control is also more layered than a private owner story. Marriott has public shareholders, a board and a management team. Its 2025 proxy says the Marriott family members J.W. Marriott, Jr., Deborah M. Harrison and David S. Marriott together had 13.08% of outstanding shares after removing double-counting of shares beneficially owned sec.gov. The same proxy lists The Vanguard Group at 7.60% and BlackRock at 5.51% of the class, based on the disclosed share counts and proxy methodology sec.gov. That makes Marriott a public company with significant family influence, not a family-owned private company.
| Control point | 2025 answer | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Legal brand owner | Marriott International | Marriott controls Sheraton’s brand identity, standards and participation in Marriott Bonvoy sec.gov. |
| Sheraton footprint | 431 properties and 150,640 rooms at year-end 2024 | Sheraton remains one of Marriott’s large premium brands sec.gov. |
| Main business model | Management, franchise and license fees | Hotel owners can use Marriott brands and systems while Marriott earns recurring fees sec.gov. |
| Largest influence holders | Marriott family, Vanguard, BlackRock | No single shareholder is shown with majority control in the 2025 proxy statement sec.gov. |
What Marriott ownership means for Sheraton guests and hotel owners
For guests, Marriott ownership means Sheraton is tied into Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott’s direct booking channels, central reservations, marketing systems and loyalty economics. Marriott says Marriott Bonvoy is central to its business strategy and encompasses its portfolio of over 30 brands, direct channels and loyalty program sec.gov. A Sheraton guest is therefore interacting with a Marriott-controlled brand, even if the actual hotel building is owned by a local real estate company, sovereign fund, private investor, REIT or other hospitality owner.
For hotel owners, the value lies in the brand and distribution system. A property owner can attach the Sheraton name to a hotel and access Marriott’s reservation, loyalty and marketing infrastructure, but must also meet the standards of that brand agreement. Marriott says it provides centralized programs and services, including loyalty, reservations and marketing, and hotel owners are required to reimburse Marriott for those costs sec.gov. That is the trade: the owner pays fees and follows standards; Marriott supplies the brand engine.
For investors, Sheraton is one component of a broader fee platform. Its economic value is not simply the profit of 431 hotels. It is the contribution of Sheraton-branded rooms to Marriott’s global system, franchise and management fee base, loyalty program and owner relationships. That makes Sheraton a brand asset inside a much larger public company rather than a standalone hotel chain with its own separate stock.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Sheraton?
Sheraton is owned by Marriott International, Inc. Marriott acquired the brand through its 2016 acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide marriott.gcs-web.com.
Does Marriott own every Sheraton hotel?
No. Marriott owns the Sheraton brand, but individual hotel buildings are often owned by third-party hotel owners. Marriott’s filings distinguish among managed, franchised, licensed, owned, leased and residential properties across the group sec.gov.
Was Sheraton part of Starwood?
Yes. Sheraton was part of Starwood before Marriott bought Starwood. Marriott’s historical materials state that Starwood completed the acquisition of ITT Corporation in 1998, and that ITT included Sheraton marriott.gcs-web.com.
Is Sheraton a franchise?
Some Sheraton hotels can be franchised, while others may be managed under agreements with property owners. Marriott says franchise and license arrangements permit hotel owners and other parties to use many Marriott lodging brand names and systems sec.gov.
Who controls Marriott?
Marriott is a public company controlled through its board, management and shareholder voting process. The 2025 proxy shows the Marriott family as influential shareholders, with Vanguard and BlackRock also listed as major beneficial holders, but it does not show a single majority owner sec.gov.
Key takeaways
The bottom line
- Sheraton is owned by Marriott International, Inc., the public hospitality company behind Marriott Bonvoy.
- Marriott acquired Sheraton through the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide merger, which closed on September 23, 2016.
- Marriott owns the Sheraton brand and system, but many Sheraton hotel buildings are owned by separate hotel owners.
- Marriott’s lodging model relies heavily on management, franchise and license agreements rather than owning most hotel real estate.
- Marriott is publicly traded, with the Marriott family, Vanguard and BlackRock among significant beneficial holders listed in its 2025 proxy.
Final word
Sheraton is not an independent hotel company today. It is a Marriott-owned brand within a global lodging system where the name, standards and loyalty platform sit with Marriott, while the buildings often sit with separate owners. That split is the central point: Marriott controls Sheraton, but the ownership of any particular Sheraton hotel depends on the property.