St. Regis Monarch Beach Leaving Starwood June 1, 2016

Interesting that they think (or "may think") they are not getting enough business from Starwood. I like the resort. I have stayed there several times. I may be the one-off ... but the only reason I stayed there was because it was a Starwood property.

KSL properties are typical Omni hotels - Homestead, LaCosta, Barton Creek, etc. Watch them switch to Omni shortly.

The hotel may not stay an independent. It could become an Omni as Mike suggests or something like a Curio by Hilton.

Sometimes, the brand standard the hotel company is attempting to enforce may not fit with the economic potential of the hotel. Also, it could be a pure money saving exercise. If the hotel generates enough revenue, it may simply not need to be affiliated with any brand. Hotel owners make decisions market by market on what brands to choose, whether to brand at all, how to manage a property, etc. Perhaps KSL think it can make its numbers easier if is not paying Starwood a management fee.

Is it possible that the contract they have with SPG prevents them from IMMEDIATLY switching over to another chain? Perhaps by end of the year/next year no longer be independent.

Puzzling but perhaps they are in negotiations to join another chain and this was done temporary due to some legal requirements (a cool down period).

From reading reviews this seems to have been a popular wedding and convention location with very sub-par staff so would be curious to see if they can keep up the business.

Could this have anything to do with the Marriott merger allowing them to leave the group in the event of a management change?

I was informed this hotel would be branded as a Miraval.

It's quite common that hotels get branded as an independent hotels in between switching flags, while the hotel gets systems, upgrades, and programming associated with a new management company--that'd be my best guess of what happens here. The market for signing new hotel management contracts now is very hot and many management companies would pay (in the form of key money) to sign this property. It could be in bidding war now.

Management owns the Hotel del Coronado, a remarkably successful independent property. I wouldn't be surprised to see them try to turn The Del into a regional or national brand/affiliation, starting with Monarch Beach.

I find it funny that they think they are a world class resort/hotel... The Montage or Pelican Hill is way better than this resort.

This hotel is a conference hotel. The vast majority of their high-occupancy nights come from conference-goers.

SPG devotees fill the hotel during low periods, but don't generate much revenue.

This hotel's conference facilities are amongst the most spacious of the high end properties in Orange County, so it reasonable for them to expect they'll continue to keep their spot on many/most conference circuits. If they keep getting the conferences, they'll get the conference-goers to fill their rooms. They don't need SPG for that.

Golfingboy...indeed, Montage and Pelican Hill are superior options. The only reason to stay here is if they are giving away rooms or your conference is here.

Of note...this is where AIG had their famous boondoggle in 2008.

Could be they have repeat business, and not getting new business. So maybe they figure they are not gaining anything from paying the very high fees to Starwood.

Quick question: what happens if you had made bookings for a stay in the period after St Regis Monarch secedes from SPG, but that it was part of SPG at the time of the booking (and you had no idea that they were about to exit SPG).

Would you then be eligible for starpoints and stays/nights?

Appreciate any insight on this. Thanks!

As stated above, wouldn't be surprised if this becomes another brand in a year. Although if they really want to be a "top 10" resort, only a few brands could support that (e.g. couldn't see Curio or Autograph, as some have suggested).

I stayed here once and honestly wasn't that impressed. It was fine, but the rates they charge don't really match the quality of the hotel. I guess it's because it's an easy weekend getaway from LA.

I agree that it might sound a bit strange to go independent but I think there are quite a few reasons why it could be a good move.

As already mentioned in these comments, the hotel is popular with event organizers. Weddings, conferences,... The people visiting these events don't book their stays through SPG. They book it through the event organizers because most of the time they get preferential rates this way. If they are lucky, they get SPG points for their stay.

As I was until recently doing myself (before crunching some numbers), a lot of people are booking their stays through online travel agents. Most of these stays are not eligible for points.

For people booking their family holidays/breaks with points, the hotel probably gets even less than the rates on online travel agents.

So all in all, I think it might be a reasonable decision to go independent in their particular case.

Rumor is that this will be a Four Seasons Resort

What a shame. I've stayed at this property several times and chose to as I was usually upgraded to "butler service" as an SPG Platinum Ambassador guest.

I guess when I'm back in the area, I'll try the Ritz and collect Marriott points

Starwood continues to DUMP some of it's best properties...
The Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, Florida
now the St. Regis Monarch Beach?
Having worked for Starwood managed and franchised properties,
it comes as no surprise.... Take a look at the Park Central San Francisco..
aka The Westin SF Market Street.... it dropped the brand, but still a Starwood Affiliate...
not sure what exactly happened there.. Maybe Highgate could not get out of the franchise agreement....

I'm a local resident living about two miles from the hotel. I don't think it's doing well without Starwood as they are pushing discounted rates and even for the holidays -- Thanksgiving and Christmas when you think they would be sold out!

As a local resident, nobody here talks about them. Ritz Carlton at least courts the local resident by offering us 20% off for F&B, spa treatments, etc. to get us to be loyal to them. Monarch Beach does nothing and I think they are really having a hard time now. And this is November!

Would very much like to know what you think will happen to the hotel Del Coronado since its recent buy out.

I remember having a cigar on one of their restaurant decks back about 8 years ago or so. Nothing but good things to say. I saw pictures and the open area is not as nice as it used to be, and I think they got rid of that restaurant. I hope they still allow smoking on the patio as there are plenty of cigar smokers who want a nice beach view.