The competing hotel owners decided to form a management company to handle all their properties, and help deal with the crippling effects of the ongoing Great Depression.

Originally a small bar named The Outrigger, it was expanded into a full restaurant in 1954 and renamed Trader Vic's in 1960.

After more than two decades of rapid growth, many of its properties were merged into a single corporate structure in 1958, focusing on bringing the hotels together under a common chain identity.

In March of that same year, they opened the first hotel to be both constructed and owned by the chain, The Bayshore Inn in Vancouver.

[3][11] From 1968 to 1973, Western International had a similar joint marketing agreement with UK-based Trust House Hotels.

[12] On January 5, 1981, the company changed its name again to Westin Hotels (a contraction of the words Western International).

[15] In 1987, UAL chairman Richard Ferris announced a plan to reorganize UAL as Allegis Corporation, a travel conglomerate based around United Airlines, Hertz Rent a Car, Hilton International Hotels, and Westin and linked by Apollo.

[17] In 1994, Aoki agreed to sell Westin to real estate investment firm Starwood Capital Group (parent of Starwood) and Goldman Sachs at an enormous loss, for $561 million, but by the time the sale closed in May 1995, the buyers had negotiated the price down to $537 million.