Two 2027 honours for Barry Sternlicht
ALIS and Shatterproof announced on 16 September 2026 that Barry Sternlicht will receive the 2027 ALIS Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2027 Shatterproof Hospitality Hero Award. Sternlicht is Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group. The release carries Washington, D.C. and Rutherford, New Jersey datelines. It states that both honours are presented on 25 January 2027 during ALIS in Los Angeles.
The conference platform
ALIS 2027 runs Monday through Wednesday, 25 to 27 January 2027, at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles L.A. LIVE. Northstar Travel Group produces the event in association with the American Hotel & Lodging Association and the Hotel Investment Group by Northstar. The release describes a two-and-a-half-day programme. The conference draws hotel executives, investors, lenders, developers and the professional advisory community.
Two events run alongside the main conference. ALIS Law runs Sunday 24 and Monday 25 January 2027 at the Courtyard and Residence Inn Los Angeles L.A. LIVE. ALIS DESIGN+ runs Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 January 2027 at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton. Jeff Higley is President of the Hotel Investment Group by Northstar and organiser of ALIS. Higley said Sternlicht's acquisition record, brand creation and work on guest experience, sustainability and investment standards helped redefine the modern hotel environment.
The award register
ALIS presents the Lifetime Achievement Award to an individual who has made significant contributions to the hospitality industry through their actions, deeds and accomplishments. The ALIS awards page lists recipients from 2002, when Mike Rose received it, through 2025, when Edwin D. Fuller received it during the 24th annual ALIS on 28 to 30 January 2025 in Los Angeles. The page lists no 2026 recipient.
Sternlicht holds a place in the same register already. The awards page records him as a 2005 recipient of the ISHC Pioneer Award. That award dates from 1996 and recognises one individual each year for contribution to the industry. Benjamin Weprin, chief executive and founder of AJ Capital Partners, received the Pioneer Award in 2025. The Arne Sorenson Social Impact Leadership Award went to Mit Shah of Noble Investment Group at ALIS in 2026.
The capital platform
Starwood Capital Group's team page states that Sternlicht formed the firm in 1991. It states that he has structured investments with an asset value exceeding USD 280 billion over 35 years. The firm manages approximately USD 130 billion of assets for high net worth and institutional partners. It employs approximately 7,000 professionals across 21 offices in nine countries.
The same page states that the firm's investment vehicles have invested in approximately 300,000 residential units, 4,000 hotels, 104 million square feet of office property, 97 million square feet of industrial property, 56 million square feet of retail and 85,000 lots of land in residential subdivisions. Sternlicht also serves as Chairman and CEO of Starwood Property Trust, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under STWD. The page presents the USD 280 billion line as investments structured.
The operator record
Sternlicht founded Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in 1995 and served as its Chairman and CEO from 1995 through early 2005. The team page states the company reached 895 properties in 100 countries and employed more than 120,000 people during that tenure.
The brand work on that record includes the creation of W Hotels, the expansion of St. Regis from a single hotel into a global brand, Westin's Heavenly Bed and the Starwood Preferred Guest programme. The release states that his acquisition of ITT Corporation closed in 1998. The acquisition included the Sheraton Hotels global brand and made Starwood the largest hotel operator in the world at the time. Starwood Capital's firm history page records the same deal at USD 14 billion in 1998.
In 2008 Sternlicht founded SH Group, now Starwood Hotels. That company owns and manages the 1 Hotels, Baccarat Hotels and Treehouse Hotels brands.
The fundraising register
Shatterproof was founded by Gary Mendell, a former hotelier, after the loss of his son Brian to addiction. Hospitality leaders have raised more than USD 12 million through Hospitality Heroes events held during ALIS since 2016. The 2027 Shatterproof Hospitality Heroes Reception brings together executives, owners, operators, investors and business partners. Pam Jenkins is Shatterproof's Chief Executive Officer. Mendell is its Founder and Chairperson Emeritus.
Jenkins said Sternlicht's leadership changed how travellers experience hotels and that his business record sits alongside a record of giving. Mendell said Sternlicht has helped define modern hospitality and set a standard for leadership and giving back. Sternlicht said hospitality provides tens of millions of jobs, career paths and contact between cultures.
What the announcement leaves open
The release carries no attendance figure for ALIS 2027 and no fundraising target for the 2027 reception. It names no other 2027 honouree. The ALIS awards page stops its Lifetime Achievement list at 2025.
The ALIS site and Starwood Capital Group's team page and firm history page carry the figures in this article.