Two leading hotel chains in the United States are Starwood Hotels and Resorts (owners of Sheraton, Westin, etc.) and Hyatt. Selected financial data for these two close competitors are as follows:

Required:
1. Calculate the debt to equity ratio for Starwood and Hyatt for the most recent year. Which company has the higher ratio? Compare your calculations with those for Coca-Cola and PepsiCo reported in the chapter. Which industry maintains a higher debt to equity ratio?
2. Calculate the return on assets and the return on equity for Starwood and Hyatt. Which company has the better profitability ratios? How do they compare with those for Coca-Cola and PepsiCo reported in the chapter?
3. Calculate the times interest earned ratio for Starwood and Hyatt. Which company is better able to meet interest payments as they become due? Compare your calculations with those for Coca-Cola and PepsiCo reported in the chapter. Which industry has a better times interest earnedratio?

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($ in millions) Starwood Hyatt 2011 S8,861 $9,560 $7,640 S7,507 2,819 2,689 4,821 4,818 2012 2011 2012 Total assets Total liabilities Total stockholders' equity Sales revenue Interest expense Tax expense Net income 5,724 6,606 3,137 2,954 $6,321 $3,949 70 170 148 562