Business Segment Information - Revenues, Adjusted Ebitda, Ebitda from Unconsolidated Ventures, Capital Expenditures, Total Assets, and Investments (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total segment revenues									$ 3,785	$ 3,213	$ 2,887
Total revenues	1,533	1,455	1,618	1,715	1,531	1,372	1,426	1,295	6,321	5,624	5,071
Total segment earnings									1,290	1,115	963
Other corporate - unallocated									88	74	67
Corporate selling, general, administrative and other - unallocated									(158)	(156)	(151)
Gain (loss) on asset dispositions and impairments, net									(21)		(39)
Restructuring and other special (charges) credits									12	(68)	75
Adjustments to equity earnings									(42)	(54)	(56)
Interest expense									(172)	(203)	(237)
Loss on early extinguishment of debt, net									(128)	(16)	(1)
Depreciation and amortization									(251)	(265)	(285)
Discontinued operations									92	(13)	168
Income tax benefit (expense)									(148)	75	(27)
Net income attributable to Starwood	142	170	122	128	167	163	131	28	562	489	477
Total earnings from unconsolidated ventures									67	65	66
Total segment capital expenditures									329	429	335
Capital expenditures, net									406	553	377
Total segment assets	5,159				5,803				5,159	5,803	6,008
Assets, net	8,861				9,560				8,861	9,560	9,776
Total investments in unconsolidated ventures	260				259				260	259	312
Americas [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total segment revenues									1,627	1,630	1,597
Total segment earnings									581	555	484
Total earnings from unconsolidated ventures									27	29	29
Total segment capital expenditures									202	174	155
Total segment assets	2,229				2,307				2,229	2,307	2,543
Total investments in unconsolidated ventures	71				70				71	70	77
EAME [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total segment revenues									550	592	529
Total segment earnings									179	204	191
Total earnings from unconsolidated ventures									4	1	2
Total segment capital expenditures									99	100	23
Total segment assets	911				830				911	830	882
Total investments in unconsolidated ventures	25				22				25	22	37
Asia Pacific [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total segment revenues									337	303	235
Total segment earnings									218	186	165
Total earnings from unconsolidated ventures									35	32	33
Total segment capital expenditures									15	9	6
Total segment assets	574				610				574	610	594
Total investments in unconsolidated ventures	143				137				143	137	171
Vacation ownership & residential [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total segment revenues									1,271	688	526
Total segment earnings									312	170	123
Total earnings from unconsolidated ventures									1	3	2
Total segment capital expenditures									13	146	151
Total segment assets	1,445				2,056				1,445	2,056	1,989
Total investments in unconsolidated ventures	21				30				21	30	27
Other revenues from managed and franchised hotels [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues									2,448	2,339	2,117
Other corporate revenues-unallocated [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total revenues									88	72	67
Capital expenditures, net									77	124	42
Other corporate assets [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Assets, net	$ 3,702				$ 3,757				$ 3,702	$ 3,757	$ 3,768