Marriott is buying Starwood to make the largest hotel company in the world.
Three Chinese firms reportedly had been vying to take over Starwood: hotel giant Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels, sovereign wealth fund China Investment Group and HNA Group, parent company of Hainan Airlines.
Hyatt was reportedly also in talks to purchase Starwood.
Jim Butler, head of global hospitality for corporate law firm Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell, said the merger will make it harder for franchise investors to negotiate deals. Part of Butler's job is to represent a Chinese investment group that is interested in hotel franchises.
"I'm concerned about the decrease in competition," he said. "The options have been going down for many years and this is a huge consolidation in the industry. I'm concerned that this is going to make this more difficult to get fair terms for owners and developers. The brands have all the power."
