Starwood Is Back — Without Points. An SPG Diehard’s Honest Take

Starwood is back — and if you were an SPG loyalist like me, that name just made your heart skip. Let me just start out by saying that when I heard the news I was actually excited, because SPG, Starwood Preferred Guest, was the NUMBER ONE loyalty program when I first started traveling seriously. It appreciated me the best, and I felt it did everybody.

But here’s the twist nobody saw coming: the new Starwood Hotels has no points at all — no Starpoints, no free nights, nothing. I have some thoughts about whether that’s genius or heartbreak — and about what really happened to SPG the first time around.

Why Did Starwood Sell to Marriott in the First Place?

Short answer: Growth — or Wall Street’s version of it. Starwood’s net room growth was 2% in 2014 against a 4-5% target, its CEO was pushed out in early 2015 for growing “too slow,” and by 2016 Marriott had won a bidding war against China’s Anbang at $13.6 billion. SPG — the program members loved — wasn’t the problem. The stock chart was.

Starwood couldn’t compete in the limited-service space — Aloft and Four Points never caught Courtyard or Hampton — and that’s where the industry’s growth numbers were, so the board started shopping the company. But here’s the thing: it just goes to show that having to prove “growth” isn’t necessarily the health of a company. If it’s profitable, it’s profitable! Look at Amazon — they were unprofitable for YEARS, and now look at them. I think it’s sad and greedy when real profits aren’t looked on positively just because they aren’t growing fast enough for Wall Street. Starwood was constantly reinvesting and constantly improving, and I believe if they would have continued on, they would be even BIGGER than what they were — and the whole industry would be a different place.

And the loyalty model itself? Today’s programs have no choice but to devalue, because of how they built them. They offer so much to get people to join, so they can say “we’ve got X million members” to borrow money against — Delta literally pledged its program as loan collateral — and then when it comes time to pay the piper, they’ve gotta renege on stuff. It’s a never-ending cycle, and that’s the problem with public companies running loyalty programs like mortgages. SPG never treated its program that way, and that’s exactly why nothing since has matched it.

What Made SPG Loyalty So Fierce?

Short answer: SPG made you feel at home — recognized, seen, welcome — at a rate no hotel company has matched before or since. The Starpoints were great, but the culture was the product, and SPG members were so loyal they would pick entire destinations based on where Starwood had a flag.

SPG aligned almost exactly with my own views on hospitality and service from my years working in hotels — it matched my ethos. Ninety-plus percent of the time in a Starwood hotel, from low end to high end, you just had a feeling that they KNEW you, they appreciated you, and they wanted you to come back. That has very, very rarely happened to me at any other chain. I can’t say never, but hardly.

Let me tell you my favorite SPG story. Years ago I had a long layover in Istanbul, and I booked the W Istanbul (now closed) for the day — not even to sleep there. It cost me right around $100, for a room I’d use for maybe six or eight hours. That’s how loyal SPG members were: we would literally spend money on a hotel we didn’t need, just to experience it.

At check-in, they presented me with a printed, personalized plant-based menu — everything the kitchen could make for me, with a note saying they could do MORE, just ask. I wasn’t an Ambassador, I was just an SPG Platinum, but they had checked up on me and knew how I ate. I made a comment on social media afterward that they treated me like the Sultan of Brunei, and I didn’t think anything more of it.

A year later I came back for a longer stay, paying just a tad more than that first $100 — and they put me in a huge two-story suite that goes for several THOUSAND dollars a night. Waiting inside was a Sultan’s cap as a presentation piece, plant-based chocolates they made in-house, and a card saying “W love you.” A passing comment I made a year earlier, and they found it and recreated it. They did NOT have to do that. But that’s the whole thought behind SPG: the hotels were EXCITED to do it. They wanted that Starwood flag because they wanted those moments. Versus what we have now with Marriott, where it’s all forced, it’s all fake, and most of the time it feels like you’re in a generic place. It’s completely flipped. I said it so many times walking into a Starwood hotel: I feel at home. I didn’t feel like I was bothering the employees, nothing was forced — I felt at home.

What Is the New Starwood Hotels — And How Does the No-Points Program Work?

Short answer: Barry Sternlicht rebranded his SH Hotels group (1 Hotels, Baccarat, Treehouse) as Starwood Hotels, with CEO Raul Leal keeping it deliberately small — 17 hotels today, 22 more coming through 2028. The Mission Membership program launched December 2025 with no points at all: a tree planted when you join, 1% of your stay spend donated to an environmental nonprofit you choose, and upgrades, late checkout, and recognition based on stay frequency across all three brands.

Over 250,000 people joined in the first couple of months, so the appetite for the Starwood name is REAL. There is clearly a whole army of us out here who never stopped missing SPG.

Now, when I first heard “no points,” I had a visceral reaction against it. But when I actually thought it through, I realized something: the loyalty program really doesn’t have much to do with the points. The points are just free nights. Don’t get me wrong — some of the best redemptions I ever had were with Starpoints! But if I had to choose between points and the SPG service — the feeling of being welcome, being recognized, being SEEN — I would choose the service any day. I just wish I didn’t have to choose.

Because here’s my worry: not all of us are independently wealthy. Points were how regular travelers got a free night here and there and got to taste the high end. The new Starwood runs $400+ a night with no points path in the door, and I hope that’s not the angle — seventeen hotels for rich people. Rich people can live without points; that’s basically the Four Seasons concept. I hope they bring in more hotels and more regular travelers, and I think Sternlicht probably will.

Did Marriott Waste $13.6 Billion Buying SPG?

Short answer: Marriott didn’t buy hotels — it bought SPG’s members. Everybody knew it, because SPG members were the most valuable customers in travel. But a decade later, the fierce loyalty never transferred, because loyalty lives in culture — and you can’t buy culture.

We all knew when it happened what was gonna happen, and it happened. Nothing good came from it — nothing whatsoever. Why would Marriott spend $13.6 BILLION? It wasn’t for the hotels, and it wasn’t even really for the names, although St. Regis and Sheraton were well-known names. They bought the SPG members. They bought that loyalty thinking it would carry over, and it did not carry over — because you can sell the hotels, you can buy the members, but you cannot recreate something that is not in your culture.

Marriott culture is the arch nemesis — the complete OPPOSITE — of what SPG culture was. It was never going to work unless Marriott assumed that role, and everyone knew Marriott did not want to. They did not value that mindset. They’ve spent the decade since devaluing everything they bought — and they’re not alone, believe me.

Now, let me correct myself — they did get SOME loyalty. I still primarily stay Marriott. But I’m not near as fierce as I was, and it’s not a priority anymore. It’s convenience, because they’re the biggest hotel company in the world and they’ve made it to where you really don’t have a choice.

Maybe that was the whole idea to start with.

Will I Try the New Starwood?

I would LOVE to — but I’ve honestly never spent $400+ on a hotel room, because finding good prices is kind of the TouringTony skill everyone wants to know about. Without an SPG in my life I shop EVERYTHING — these days I hunt rates on Hotels.com for hotel stays and VRBO when an apartment makes more sense. If the new Starwood eventually gives regular travelers a way in the door, I’ll be first in line. The Starwood name earned that from me.

And that right there is the old SPG magic the new Starwood needs to understand: back in the day, if a destination had no Starwood hotel I wanted to experience, chances are I would not go. The hotel itself, to me, is sixty percent of the destination! Most people went to Rome for the sightseeing — I went to Rome to check out the SPG hotels, and saw the Colosseum while I was at it. THAT is fierce loyalty. Points didn’t create it. People did.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SPG coming back?

Not as a points program — Marriott owns Starpoints, which were folded into Bonvoy in 2019 and are gone for good. But the new Starwood Hotels, relaunched by original founder Barry Sternlicht, is explicitly betting it can recreate the SPG feeling — recognition, personal service, being known — without the currency. Whether that’s possible is exactly what this article is about.

Is Starwood Hotels really back?

Yes. Barry Sternlicht reacquired the Starwood name Marriott had retired and rebranded his SH Hotels & Resorts group as Starwood Hotels — covering 1 Hotels, Baccarat, and Treehouse. It’s deliberately small: 17 hotels today with 22 more planned through 2028, under CEO Raul Leal.

Does the new Starwood loyalty program have points like SPG did?

No. Mission Membership (launched December 2025) has no points and no free-night redemptions. Members get a tree planted on joining, 1% of stay spend donated to an environmental nonprofit of their choice (NRDC, Oceanic Global, or Green Our Planet), and perks like upgrades and late checkout based on stay frequency, shared across all three brands.

Why did Marriott buy Starwood in 2016?

Marriott paid $13.6 billion after a bidding war with Anbang Insurance Group, and the consensus then and now is that the real prize was SPG’s famously loyal, high-spending member base — plus brands like St. Regis, Westin, and Sheraton. SPG merged into Marriott Bonvoy in 2019.

Was the old SPG program actually profitable?

SPG members drove documented 12-16% year-over-year revenue increases to Starwood hotels, and the Amex partnership dating to 1996 was a major revenue engine. Starwood’s problem was hotel unit growth — 2% in 2014 versus a 4-5% target — not SPG, which was widely considered the most valuable asset in the 2016 sale.

Related Articles

• Why SPG is the Best and my Favorite, and why I Will Miss it so! (2016)
• Marriott Killed the Bonvoy Shopping Portal. Here Are 14 Better Ways to Stack Points in 2026
• World of Hyatt Just Raised Points Prices 67%. Their CEO Says You’re “Objectifying” Them.
• Airlines Made You A Promise. Here’s Exactly How They Broke It.

Thanks for reading, and PLEASE, TRAVEL MORE!

Were you an SPG loyalist? Do you think loyalty can work without points — or is the new Starwood dreaming? Leave a comment below. I read every single one.