Starwood Reconceptualizes Its Kids Program

'Directors of fun’ run activities for children and parents.

-- Hotels, 5/1/2008

WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK—When a former president of Disneyland is president of a hotel group, as Matt Ouimet is at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, perhaps it is inevitable that the company’s properties eventually launch a major kid-friendly marketing initiative. Ouimet has directed Starwood executives to put together a program to integrate the essence of “The Happiest Place on Earth” into Starwood’s upscale and luxury resort brands.

The resulting Love Your Family initiative takes typical hotel children’s programming a step further, with three signature experiences—fireside storytelling, stargazing and “dive-in” movies.

Fireside storytelling places families around a campfire to listen to local professional storytellers, while stargazing provides guests with telescopes and education about constellations. Dive-in movies, a concept previously seen at IHG’s Holiday Inn SunSpree Resorts brand, places a big screen adjacent to pool areas, with coordinated activities and theme nights based on the movie being shown.

Starwood resorts also will offer some additional programming unique to their respective regions. “If you are in Hawaii at a stargazing, you might be hearing about how the Hawaiians used the stars to get from place to place, for example,” says Valerie Lee, Starwood’s corporate director of fun. “Across the board, there are all these different activities that are indigenous to the locales.”

The Love Your Family campaign launches this summer at 29 resorts within the Sheraton, Westin, St. Regis and Luxury Collection brands; Le Méridien properties are expected to come online with the program next year. Love Your Family debuts first in the United States and the Caribbean, and will expand to Canada, Latin America and Europe by next year.

Eventually, all properties of 300 keys or more within the five brands—including city center hotels—will participate in some fashion, Lee says. Each participating resort will have its own director of fun, a staff member dedicated to creating and coordinating family programming.

Love Your Family essentially will serve as the umbrella campaign for the brands’ individual children’s programs. But the brand programs—Westin Kids Club, Sheraton Adventure Club and Le Méridien Penguin Club—will continue marketing under their respective names and will retain their signature programming, Lee says.

Love Your Family is, of course, targeted squarely at parents. Beyond the family fun aspects, packages include food and beverage discounts and the option of connecting rooms for extra space and privacy. Just as important, program counselors will be on hand to keep an eye on the children while mom and dad enjoy some alone time.

The program was developed using customer research and guest feedback that suggested kids and their parents welcome creative programming in which the whole family can participate. Starwood has launched a dedicated Web site, FamilyFunSpecials.com, to promote the campaign.

Direct comments to: adam.kirby@reedbusiness.com