NEW YORK — Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., the third-largest U.S. lodging company, said profit will fall in 2008 and 2009 as the global financial crisis erodes travel spending faster than it anticipated.

The forecasts show that the deterioration in leisure and business travel is accelerating as corporations and consumers contend with higher food prices, declining home values, job losses and scarce credit. Chief Executive Officer Frits van Paasschen, one year into the job, has responded by cutting employees, shutting sales centers and trimming expenses at Starwood's Sheraton and Westin hotels. Starwood operates a dozen properties on four islands in Hawaii.

The company said timeshare sales fell 11 percent in the third quarter. It projected operating income from the unit will tumble as much as $115 million this year compared with 2007, as demand for all vacation shares including Hawaii and Orlando slows.