Starwood Goes 'Hot' On Talent Development In Asia

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. -- Hotels, 7/17/2008 9:23:00 AM

Singapore, July 17, 2008 – Starwood Hotels & Resorts kicks off its first HotStarts program for new associates in Asia Pacific, with the inaugural program taking place in China.  The largest of its kind for new sales and marketing associates to the company and the region, HotStarts is held in Shanghai from 16th to 18th July 2008.

The Sales & Marketing training will be attended by over 100 delegates from 10 countries in Asia Pacific, comprising sales and marketing executives who are new to the organization.  The delegates represent the hotel brands under the Starwood group, including St Regis, The Luxury Collection, Le Meridien, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W Hotels and the newly launched aloft hotels.  HotStarts will be focused on delivering the company strategy and objectives, learning about alignment, and leveraging the Starwood tools and systems to drive market share.

“We made the decision to launch HotStarts as part of our many initiatives to build the talent pool in the company.  Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific is growing at an unprecedented rate and managing the human capital is our number one priority.  We have developed comprehensive orientation tools to groom our associates and prepare them for their current and future roles,” commented Miguel Ko, President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific.  “Alongside these plans, we have also recently launched one of the most robust recruitment related websites in the industry :www.Starwood.jobs to assist in our recruitment drive as we grow our footprint in this dynamic region,” added Ko.

Starwood currently operates more than 140 hotels in Asia Pacific, with more than 80 hotels and resorts under development soon to fly Starwood’s brand flags including Westin, Sheraton, W, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Four Points by Sheraton, Le Méridien and aloft.  Fueling Starwood’s growth in the region is its impressive pace in China, driven by a surge in development of Starwood’s select service brands and the increased exposure of the company’s upper upscale and luxury brands in the Asia Pacific region.

Of the hotels under development in Asia Pacific, more than half are in China, where Starwood expects to double its portfolio by 2011. The Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton brands lead the growth in this region.   In addition to the 43 hotels Starwood currently operates in China, Starwood has more than 40 new properties opening soon.   The company is also experiencing significant growth in India. Building on its current portfolio of 20 properties in India, Starwood has 10 more under development in vibrant technology hubs such as Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Bangalore.  Westin and Aloft are particularly hot in India right now.  In the past few months, Westin signed deals for five new properties, and Aloft executed deals for three new properties.