The shares jumped the most in six months on speculation his departure may make it easier for Starwood founder Barry Sternlicht, the owner of Starwood Capital, or other private- equity firms to buy the company.

"Issues with regard to his management style have led us to lose confidence in his leadership," said Stephen Quazzo, chairman of the hotelier's governance and nominating committee. Heyer, 54, will be temporarily replaced by Chairman Bruce Duncan while the company searches for a new CEO.

Heyer became chief executive of Starwood, the third-largest U.S. hotel company, in October 2004, replacing Sternlicht. He was a president at Coca-Cola Co. before joining White Plains, New York-based Starwood. Starwood has 11 hotels in Hawai'i.

"Steve may have ruffled too many internal feathers," said Joseph Greff, an analyst at Bear Stearns & Co. in New York. The company may be targeted for a leveraged buyout because of its real-estate holdings and cash flow, Greff said.

Duncan said Heyer's resignation was related "solely" to his style of management. He declined to provide more specifics, saying only that "he's got a difficult style and it just came to a head."

Heyer commuted to White Plains from Atlanta, which frustrated some managers who wanted more access to him. Duncan said he would be moving to White Plains as interim CEO. He also said the next chief of Starwood would be required to live near the company's headquarters.

Under Heyer, Starwood has shed real estate to focus on managing hotels and has increased marketing for chains such as Sheraton and St. Regis. He didn't want to sell the company, JPMorgan Securities Inc. analyst Harry Curtis said in a note.

"It is possible that the board may wish to seek strategic alternatives without the opposition of its CEO," Curtis said. If the company sought a buyer, "no investor knows the portfolio better than Mr. Sternlicht," he said today.

Calls to Sternlicht seeking comment weren't immediately returned.

Marketing chief Javier Benito also resigned, Duncan said today on a call with analysts and investors. His departure isn't related to Heyer's exit, he said.

Heyer won't get a severance payment. He has been paid $250,000 in salary this year, and will get a $2 million cash bonus for his work in 2006. Heyer will forfeit stock options, unvested restricted stock and other unpaid compensation.

The hotel company repeated its full-year earnings forecast and said it will "not miss a beat" while searching for a new chief.

Shares of Starwood rose $2.97, or 4.6 percent, to $67.82 at 4:07 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. It was their biggest one-day gain since Sept. 8, 2006.

They have advanced 24 percent in the past 12 months, lagging behind the 43 percent gain by Hilton Hotels Corp., the second- largest U.S. hotel company. Marriott International Inc. is the country's biggest hotelier.

"Steve did a lot to bolster the brands' presence," said Amit Kapoor, an analyst at Gabelli & Co. in White Plains, which owns Starwood shares. The board may be looking for someone who is "more finance-centric," he said.

Starwood sold 33 hotels last year for $3.63 billion, part of a plan to divest properties. It now has 14 hotels on the market, Chief Financial Officer Vasant Prabhu said last month.

A buyout of Starwood would continue a recent trend.

Four Seasons Hotels Inc. is being taken private for $3.27 billion by a group that includes founder Isadore Sharp, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal.

Station Casinos Inc. is being taken private by its founders and Colony Capital LLC for $5.4 billion.

Hilton agreed in March to sell its Scandic chain to Swedish buyout firm EGT for 833 million euros ($1.1 billion).

The perceived risk of owning Starwood's bonds rose today as investors increased bets that the company could become a leveraged buyout target. Credit-default swaps based on $10 million of the company's bonds rose $15,000 to $110,000, the highest in four months, according to prices compiled by Credit Derivatives Research LLC.

An increase in the contracts, used to speculate on the company's ability to repay its debt, signals deterioration in the perception of credit quality.

Starwood owns, manages or franchises 870 hotels under brands including St. Regis, Sheraton and Westin and is introducing other chains to compete with Marriott and Hilton.

Heyer took the top job at Starwood after he was passed over for CEO at Coca-Cola, in part because of his blunt management style, analysts including Morgan Stanley's Bill Pecoriello said at the time.

Some board members at Coca-Cola didn't agree with Heyer's pushing out other senior executives such as Jeff Dunn, who headed North American operations. Other executives who left under Heyer include Tom Moore, head of the soda-fountain group; Stephen Jones, a top marketing officer; and General Counsel Deval Patrick, who is now the governor of Massachusetts.