International Marketing Study Program 2001
Starwood Corporation, Boston
24 January 2001
After arriving in Boston last night, and slightly jet lagged this morning we made our way down the snow filled streets of Boston to Starwood.
Once a sole company Starwood acquired both Sheraton and Westin 2 years ago to build a corporation of over 700 hotels in over 70 countries. The company prides itself on its membership schemes and ability to build strong relationships with business partners such as Qantas, British Airways, Ansett Australia, United Airlines and Alitalia just to name a few of their 25+ airline partners.
It is at their head office that we had the privilege of meeting a number of Starwood's top executives and employees in the area of Strategic Alliance Marketing. This area looks after the strategic direction of the company, brand and division relationships and integration, e-commerce, new business acquisitions, team building and individual development.
Running on a tight schedule we spent the morning gaining valuable insight into the company's view and direction for guest memberships with a particular focus on e-commerce and off-line communications. So busy in fact was the time schedule of these presenters that they staggered flights to the company's annual international business conference in New York to spend the time with us.
We received a warm welcome from Janet Kuser, Senior Vice President Customer Relationship Marketing, who gave us an overview of the company and its loyalty program. This was followed by an in-depth presentation by Anne Massey, Director Strategic Alliance Marketing, on the company's e-commerce objectives and the importance of understanding and obtaining a large database on guests which can be used to increase the high quality of service the company offers. This included statistical information on the size of the company's current membership programs and future expectations.
Laura Donahue, Director Loyalty Communication, provided some insights into important factors which contribute to the success of Internet marketing and information gathering. It was further highlighted that the company's loyalty program, which has only been running for 2 years, has set industry standards in this area winning a number of industry awards. One such initiative is the company's no blackout policy which means members are not subject to restrictions on seasons or special events when redeeming free hotel nights. The only organisation to offer this type of incentive to its members in the hotel industry, we were given an outline on the company's marketing strategy for this particular program.
Mary Beth Grant, Director Loyalty Communications, together with Sheila Nazzaro and Kim Birong, Supervisors of Loyalty Communication, gave us a run down on off-line communications. This included the company's new marketing focus for 2001, different marketing initiatives which will be pursued, and in particular its "Free Fridays and More" promotion which is already proving to be a great success.
The presentation was concluded with a brief overview on all the information presented and a short tour of the company's office by Denise Bradford, Personal Assistant to Janet Kuser.
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