...Overview of Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Starwood Hotels are one of the world’s largest hotel and leisure companies. They conduct hotel and leisure business both directly and through their subsidiaries. Brand names includes following: * St. Regies: A luxury full service hotel, resorts and residences is for connoisseurs who desire the finest expression of luxury. They are located in the ultimate location within the world’s most desired destinations, important emerging markets and to be discovered paradises. * The Luxury Collection: The group of unique hotels and resorts offering exceptional service to all clientele. To give world of unique, authentic and enriching experiences to each destination that captures the sense of both luxury and place. * W Hotles: Upscale full service hotel, where iconic design and cutting edge lifestyle set the stage for exclusive and extraordinary experiences. * Westin: Hotel provides innovative programs and instinctive service which transform every aspect of guest stay into experience. * Le Meridien: A Paris born hotel brand aims to target the creative minds that are eager to learn something new and see things in different light. * Sheraton: The largest brand serving needs of upscale business and leisure travelors worldwide. * Four Points: A selected service hotel delights self sufficient traveller with what is needed for greater comfort and productivity. * Aloft: Small scale service hotel which provides...
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...to make the stewards more flexible, Starwood can create a more fluid schedule for each steward. The schedule begins by assigning the stewards to kitchens according to forecasted standards. They may be assigned based on kitchen proximity, tasks to be done, stewards expertise, etc. If schedules need to be adjusted due to unexpected daily demands, stewards will check the schedule throughout their shift. This change in process is indicated by an addition of a single step at the beginning of the process. The steward may check a schedule which will assign the steward to a kitchen and duties. The schedule can be referenced by mobile media like a cell phone, headset, employee work station, etc. As the steward completes his tasks at a particular kitchen, he references the schedule again to see if another kitchen needs tasks completed. 2. The Power of Innovation team seeks to capture best practices for all of the Starwood hotel brands in North America. They examine processes and improve productivity. This translates into higher revenues (lower expenses) for the company. The team utilizes teams of personnel with specific expertise in housekeeping, stewarding, kitchen preparation, laundry, etc. to follow staffers when they do their jobs and collect benchmark data. This data is analyzed in order to streamline operations and improve processes. The POI team observed traffic patterns, specifically between banquet areas and privacy hedges. Starwood can benefit from this study by possibly...
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...Question 1: Starwood introduced a team of Six Sigma experts, also known as black belts, to make the processes in the hotel more efficient and even more satisfying for the customers. The Six Sigma team used the DMAIC process, which consists of defining, measuring, analyzing, improving, and controlling. First the DMAIC process will be explained. After this the top down commitment, measurement systems, goal setting, education, communication and customer priorities will be described. * Define – in order to fulfill the customers satisfaction (or the Sheraton Service Promise), three key features were identified i.e. speed, empathy, and efficiency. * Measure - call logs were established to track speed, empathy of associate handling the call, and efficiency of the staff charged with fixing the problem. * Analyze - Pareto charts and other techniques were used for the analysis. * Improve – since there is always space for improvement, the committee is looking for ways how to make the parts of the process (such as: telephone operators’ handling of requests, procedures for determining who to call, engineering workloads) faster, more emphatic and more efficient in order to increase customers’ satisfaction. * Control and monitoring – there will be 12 to 18 months tracking, with monthly feedback to the manager or department head responsible for the improvement of the Sheraton Service Promise program. Top-Down Commitment: Top-level management commitment is crucial...
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...Haciendas The word “Hacienda” means estate, or large cattle ranching plantation. Some haciendas were even mines or factories for businesses. Haciendas were a display of wealth and luxury, because you were able to afford large amounts of land. Haciendas tended to be family owned, and have a lot of history behind them. Haciendas started out as land grants given to the conquistadors, or the Spanish conquers. Once they became owners, they were referred to hacendados or patrons. Campesino, or workhand, was the workers of the Haciendas. Haciendas didn’t produce large-scale items though; it was large plantations producing small-scale items. Only the best of the best land was used, there were no exceptions to the land usage. While the production was low, the prices were high because if there were more productions going on, they would have had to lower the prices. People didn’t necessarily have Haciendas to be economically helpful; they did for their own status. Haciendas produced items from meat, to produce, and other items able to be exported for income. The campesino was in debt to the Patron for their whole lives, and if they had children, the children took on the parent’s debt. They would live on the Patron’s land, but labor was their pay off. When the campesino’s needed to borrow money from the Patron’s for things such as weddings, funerals and gatherings, they would fall into debt and typically stay in debt. Because the campesino literally owns absolutely nothing, to...
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...Starwood Hotel and Resorts Call Center Networking Starwood Hotels and resorts is one of the world’s largest hotel and leisure companies. The company owns thousands of Hotels and Resorts as well as seven call centers in which help keep everything running smoothly for the company. Of course this means there is an expansive network working to keep all this information flowing from every hotel and call center. This paper will focus on the network of the call center in Lancaster, California in which I used to work at as a customer service representative. First the paper will give an overview of the company. Then, a depiction of the network that is being used by the call center will be explained. The Lancaster call center consisted of over 200 cubicles with a computer and a phone line in which connects to their main servers in the back of the building. Also there were QA offices in the back in which monitored random customer service representatives in order to maintain quality control and ensure that all representatives were following the guidelines given to them. The call center offered a separate training room in which also had its own software in which did not disrupt the live calls flowing through the center. I had to break down each section of the call center in order to get a full idea of how everything is connected in the network. First I will discuss the training area; there are about 50 computers in the training area in which are all connected to each other through...
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...810-S01 JULIO 23, 2008 LYNDA M. APPLEGATE GABRIELE PICCOLI CHEKITAN S. DEV Hoteles Hilton: Diferenciación de marca a través de la gestión de la relación con el cliente A inicios del año 2008, la Corporación Hoteles Hilton estaba preparada para un tremendo crecimiento global –con una meta agresiva de abrir 1.000 hoteles en Norte América en cinco años, y 1.000 hoteles en el resto del mundo en diez años. La compañía acababa de ser comprada y retirada de la cotización en Bolsa por el Grupo Blackstone1 por unos $ 26.000 millones, con una prima del 32% sobre el precio por acción de $32,05 al día previo al anuncio. El anuncio de la toma por parte de Blackstone claramente delimitó el camino a seguir: “Blackstone tiene intenciones de invertir en las propiedades y marcas Hilton a nivel mundial, y hacer crecer el negocio para beneficio de los propietarios, franquiciados y clientes… Esta transacción trata de construir el primer negocio global de la hospitalidad.” Pero el crecimiento no sería fácil en el altamente competitivo negocio mundial del hospedaje. Los retos en este mercado históricamente incluían el acceso al capital, altos niveles de rotación de empleados y una dificultad para alcanzar la estandarización, típica en la entrega de las operaciones de servicio. Las mejorías en la entrega de servicios y consistencia a lo largo de la familia de marcas Hilton eran el principal enfoque de la estrategia CRM – Los Clientes Realmente Importan (CRM – Customers Really...
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...9-809-029 23 DE JULIO DE 2 0 0 8 Professors Lynda M. Applegate of HBS, Gabriele Piccoli of the University of Sassari, and Chekitan Dev of Cornell University prepared this case. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Copyright © 2008 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to www.hbsp.harvard.edu/educators. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the permission of Harvard Business School. LYNDA M. APPLEGATE GABRIELE P ICCOL I CHEKI TAN DEV HILTON HOTELS Diferenciación de Marca mediante la Gestión de Relación con el Cliente (CRM) A principios de 2008, la corporación Hilton Hotels estaba preparada para un ambiciosa plan de crecimiento a nivel internacional que la llevaría a la apertura de 1.000 hoteles en Estados Unidos en los próximos cinco años y de 1.000 hoteles en el resto del mundo en los próximos diez. La compañía acababa de ser adquirida por la empresa de capital riesgo Blackstone Group, por un importe de $26.000 millones, lo que suponía una prima del 32% sobre la cotización de las acciones ($32.05) en el día en del anuncio. El comunicado de Blackstone el mismo día de la toma...
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...Professor Hodgdon AC405 11 November 2015 On September 21, 2015, Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust (SWAY) announced that it would be merging with Colony American Homes Inc. (CAHS) in an all-stock deal. These two entities are among the biggest landlords in the single-family residence renting industry. All of the details of the acquisition are disclosed in the PREM14A form that Starwood Waypoint filed with the SEC on September 21st, which I was able to utilize for most of my research. This merger should be classified as a statutory consolidation. In the proposed deal, Starwood Waypoint will merge with Colony by acquiring all of its outstanding shares. Colony investors’ shares will be converted into an aggregate of 64,869,583 common shares of the combined company which will be named “Colony Starwood Homes.” The resulting company’s shares will be listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “SFR” (single-family rental). Colony investors will form the majority of ownership of the new entity, holding approximately 59%, on a fully diluted basis. I think this is a great deal for Colony’s investors, as Starwood proposes that the increased scale and density of the new company will allow it to optimize operations and result in a reduction of operating costs, as well as provide many beneficial strategic and financial opportunities in its industry. Altogether the company will own over 30,000 homes, among an estimated total assets of $7.7 billion, and expect...
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...associated with Starwood’s new meeting planning process are “Starwood Meeting Concierge”, hotel managers, and staff. These key employees are responsible for hotel planning, meetings, and reservations requirements for the hotel and meeting room. The output of Starwood meeting planning is to provide a well-planned and successful meeting to meet the customer’s needs or expectations. 1. How does the meeting planning process at Starwood interact with the following core processes in their hotels? a. Customer relationship (internal and external) The main goal is that through great experiences more meeting planners will hold their events at Starwood. Starwood Preferred Planner is designed to create customer loyalty. Meeting planners can earn hotel points, charitable contributions, or airline miles. Starwood being consistent with the process of meeting planning helps the planner carry out business. b. New service or product development In order to determine if the plan or action is working it must be measured. Starwood has implemented surveying. This has become an important tool for Starwood Preferred Planners. The planners are encouraged to give honest feedback because the info will be used to improve or develop new service or product. c. Order fulfillment Starwood Preferred Planner has all the components to deliver a successful meeting. The Nextel radio gives the planner immediate access to hotel staff. Starwood has become a competitive advantage when they implemented...
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...associated with Starwood’s new meeting planning process are “Starwood Meeting Concierge”, hotel managers, and staff. These key employees are responsible for hotel planning, meetings, and reservations requirements for the hotel and meeting room. The output of Starwood meeting planning is to provide a well-planned and successful meeting to meet the customer’s needs or expectations. 1. How does the meeting planning process at Starwood interact with the following core processes in their hotels? a. Customer relationship (internal and external) The main goal is that through great experiences more meeting planners will hold their events at Starwood. Starwood Preferred Planner is designed to create customer loyalty. Meeting planners can earn hotel points, charitable contributions, or airline miles. Starwood being consistent with the process of meeting planning helps the planner carry out business. b. New service or product development In order to determine if the plan or action is working it must be measured. Starwood has implemented surveying. This has become an important tool for Starwood Preferred Planners. The planners are encouraged to give honest feedback because the info will be used to improve or develop new service or product. c. Order fulfillment Starwood Preferred Planner has all the components to deliver a successful meeting. The Nextel radio gives the planner immediate access to hotel staff. Starwood has become a competitive advantage when they implemented...
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...Escola Superior de Hotelaria e Turismo do Estoril Ano Lectivo 2011/2012 Disciplina: Gestão de Recursos Humanos Tema: Análise de Três Organizações, Starwood/Hilton/Marriot Curso: Gestão de Empresas Turísticas 2º ano Docente: Vítor Toricas Trabalho Realizado por: Lauro Andrade Nº 5046 Pedro Nascimento Nº 5050 Telmo Gaudêncio Nº 5040 Frederico Caetano Nº5348 Data: 14/05/2012 Gestão de Recursos Humanos 2011/2012 Índice Conteúdo Índice ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Introdução ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Starwood ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Marcas ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Web sites e separador de carreiras............................................................................................... 8 Missão, valores e visão................................................................................................................ 10 Missão: .................................................................................................................................... 10 Valores:...........................................
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...The Case of Starwood V. Hilton. Jameson, D. A. (2011). The Rhetoric of Industrial Espionage: The Case of Starwood V. Hilton. Business Communication Quarterly, 74(3), 289-297. doi:10.1177/1080569911413811 ARTICLE SYNOPSIS This article discusses a lawsuit filed by Starwood against Hilton in 2009 for industrial espionage. Starwood had an agreement with their executives that they would not share any personal information from the company and they would not work for another company of the same sort for at least one year. This is to keep ideas on the inside as well for companies to use their ideas before it is too late or to come up with different idea for their company. Starwood tells how Hilton stole documents and used them for their own personal gain. This information was taken by two executive employees who were recruited by a Hilton vice president. This Vice president received some personal information and ideas that were clearly from another company. Once the two executives were hired into the Hilton staff more information was given out openly share by the two. This information was shared with about 44 other employees who knew that every idea they were being given was from a competing organization (Starwood). LEGAL ISSUE The legal business issues here would be the theft if many documents. Not only were these documents taken, they were also used for a new product for the company. This was not only used to get more information about what Starwood was planning...
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...Marriott and Starwood sign the merger agreement with initial offer $11.7 billion in November, 2015. After china’s Anbang aggressively bid with$13.2 billion, the Marriott board quickly upped the company's offer to $13.8 billion. Apparently the chance to merger with Starwood is significant to Marriott. The new entrants such as Airbnb and Expedia put more competition in the hotel industry. Traditional hotels like Marriott and Starwood have to choose consolidation and mergers to remain the market portion. According to a recent report from Boston University, More than 30 million consumers have used Airbnb to find a temporary resting spot, be it for a one-night stay or an extended month-long rental. And as Airbnb makes it easier for guests and hosts alike, a 10% increase in Airbnb supply results in a 0.35% decrease in hotel room revenue. Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott International, admitted Airbnb now is going to get out of the shared economy, but they're really local in a way that is unique. It's not threaten. He believes the merger create more economies of scale. At the meantime Marriott makes sure this business stays local.2016 planned acquisition part states the merger Agreement provides for the Company to combine with Starwood in a series of transactions after which Starwood will be an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company According to 2015 annual report, Marriott revenue increased by 5% in 2015, 8% in 2014, net income increased by 14% in 2015, 20% in 2014.The growth...
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...Analysis of Service Marketing Strategies in the Hospitality & Tourism business in the UK: The Sheraton Park Lane Hotel Mashfiq Ahmed The hospitality and tourism industry is one of the biggest industries in the United Kingdom and in the entire world. Two of the major components of this industry are the marketing and public relations as in the highly competitive and sophisticated business world of the twenty first century; they play the key role in attracting and retaining customers i.e. the sales of products and services. Especially for businesses that focus on the luxury consumers, branding is an integral part of their core value proposition and there is no better way to create a brand identity and promote it than the use of interactive marketing strategies and public relations tactics. To get your BUSINESS Reports / Case Studies/ Research Projects / Dissertations / Term papers / Presentations / Assignments done, CONTACT: MASHFIQ AHMED . ahmed.mashfiq@gmail.com +8801674312929 January, 2012 1. Introduction The hospitality and tourism industry is one of the biggest industries in the United Kingdom and in the entire world. Two of the major components of this industry are the marketing and public relations as in the highly competitive and sophisticated business world of the twenty first century; they play the key role in attracting and retaining customers i.e. the sales of products and services. Especially for businesses that focus on the luxury consumers, branding...
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...The program was designed to unite the brand and unify its customer base in the US and abroad. The newly created program HHonors essentially worked for both of these companies and their franchisees, and was tasked with breaking even each year. Loyalty programs reward frequent guest by giving them points for each of their stays; points can then be redeemed for free nights, airline miles, and products from other participating vendors. Starwood Hotels has organized a rewards program that features no blackout dates, no capacity control, paperless rewards, and a higher reimbursement rate to the hotel for the nights given out using points. Marketing executives at Hilton are worried that this new standard set by Starwood cost them excessive amounts of money to keep up. At the time, Hilton began wondering if it would make sense for them to match the offerings of Starwood or if they should keep their loyalty programs as is. The loyalty program that was designed by Starwood was one that fit their particular needs, and not that of the business. Starwood was a...
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