Become a Home-Based Travel Agent
Educational Programs

STARWOOD’S NEW PROLEARNING IS ACCESSIBLE NOW
(www.starwoodpro.com)

By Chris J. Austin VP Global Customer Partnerships,
Leisure & Luxury Sales
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

At Starwood Hotels & Resorts, we recognize the challenges faced by the travel professional community in truly knowing and understanding the brand options afforded to your customers. Particularly in the hospitality space, the options are many. Starwood has defined our strategy to become a global branded lifestyle hospitality company as driven by our brands. We operate over 900 hotels in the Luxury, Upper Upscale, Upscale and Select Service categories. 

Our nine world-class brands have a distinct positioning with signature programming and service initiatives that brings each brand to life. Our hotels and resorts may all be architecturally different on the outside but for each hotel or resort within the brand (St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, the Luxury Collection, W Hotels, Westin Hotels & Resorts, Le Meridien, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, Four Points by Sheraton, aloft and Element) they will all build an emotional connection with our guests, your customers, whether it is the Westin Heavenly bed and unwind hour at Westin Hotels and Resorts, or for guests staying at St. Regis who desire the finest expressions of service, with each moment reflecting discreet, bespoke experiences.

Your fellow professionals at Starwood Hotels & Resorts are thrilled to share with you the launch of ProLearning – a new, online travel professional training program designed to help you better understand each of Starwood’s nine brands and customize travel according to your customers’ preferences.  ProLearning also includes a short-term sweepstakes opportunity, as well as attractive STARPRO rates for those who complete the training. 

We recognize all the demands on your time and we also recognize everyone’s need for professional development. ProLearning allows you to work on-line at your own pace, with little advance work or preparation. Approximately 20 to 45 minutes in duration, each of the training modules will contain video, audio and high-resolution visuals, and include learning aids such as supplemental offerings and hyper links to other sites. 

Complete the first module and you will qualify for exclusive STARPRO rates through Starwood’s new Travel Professional Experience Rate program. STARPRO rates start at $69 and can be booked at www.starwoodpro.com.

ProLearning will help you better understand and experience our brands, learn more about our hotel and resort locations, and find topics that are relevant to their business, all with the goal of improving profit performance and deepening customer relationships. However, it is important to note that ProLearning is not all about us. We also focus on defining what is a brand, exploring the human truths that impact purchase decisions, understanding more about the customer so you can better support your customers’ goals when arranging travel for them.

Adding to the rewards, if you pass module one of ProLearning by January 31st 2009 you will automatically be entered to win one of nine sweepstakes awards. Starwood’s nine world-class brands have each contributed incredible sweepstakes prizes that will provide winners with an insider’s look at the unique customer experience that each brand offers. Those who pass are also eligible to win up to a four-night stay at one of Starwood’s participating properties around the world.

Prizes include four night stays at The W Retreat & Spa – Maldives, located in the Indian Ocean. There, travel professionals can sip a cocktail at the swim-up bar, discover marine life amongst the beautiful coral, or rejuvenate their body and soul at the AWAY Spa.  Other participating properties include The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort. Spanning 44 acres, this lush landscaped property is edged by powdery white sands and a crystalline lagoon. The resort’s 100 exquisitely designed guest rooms include the largest overwater villas in the South Seas as well as stunning beach villas furnished in exotic woods, handwoven fabrics and regional art.

Recognized by the Travel Institute, ProLearning also awards participants with Continuing Education (CEU) credits based on satisfactory completion of each module.

At Starwood, we also recognize the importance of compensation. In a constant effort to optimize and enhance solutions for the travel professional, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, recently introduced StarCom. This new commission payment solution has been created in partnership with Worldwide Payment Systems (WPS), an industry leader in Travel Agency commission processing and payments. In tandem with StarwoodPro, a dedicated one-stop-shop for the travel professional, StarCom offers a worldwide consolidated payment program for all participating Starwood hotels. 

With this partnership Starwood now offers a complete free-of-charge processing, payment and recovery tool to the travel professional community, which will include:

Ø   Online Tracking – search for the payment status of a commission by hotel name, guest name, Starwood confirmation number or dates of stay;
Ø   Online Commission Claim – create a new commission claim or track an existing claim online;
Ø   Reconciliation - Customized payment reports designed to be imported into back office systems for reconciliation;
Ø   Global Commission Recovery (GCR) – WPS will help travel professionals recover commission;

We know that good business is as much about reliability as it is about building a positive, rewarding relationship, and how we handle the payment of commissions is a very large part of that. We believe that StarCom will strengthen our partnership with you, as we understand that being paid for the business you book with us should be a simple, accurate and efficient process.

Starwood continues to develop programs and deliver new solutions to the travel professional community since the launch of StarwoodPro in late 2007. StarwoodPro establishes a sophisticated, user-friendly interface between Starwood and travel professionals including a robust search and booking engine, complete brand information and access to Starpicks (the lowest internet rates available from Starwood). Additional features include complimentary travel professional amenity order forms for resort vacations in Hawaii, Caribbean and Mexico and access to more than 100 daily special offers at properties around the world.

As an example of what you can find for your customers on starwoodpro.com, we recently launched a new rate plan for nearly 460 of our properties. As today’s news has many consumers looking for a break in more ways than one, we at Starwood are looking for ways to help the consumer and help you at the same time. During these tough economic times are thrilled to launch our own promise for Better Tomorrows™.  

From now until March 31, 2009, for every night your customers stay with Starwood, the next night can be 50 percent off.  The industry leading promotion offers significant savings at  W®, Westin, Le Meridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft^SM, Element^SM and The Luxury Collection® hotels in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. 

With Better Tomorrows, a two-day NYC weekend escape at the W New York averages $598, compared to $798.  A four-day fall family getaway to the Westin San Francisco will average $507, compared to a more typical $676.  And guests who book a six-night winter vacation at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa in Hawaii could save $308, making the trip $922. 

Better Tomorrows provides travelers access to these and other top destinations like San Diego, Scottsdale, San Antonio and Sunny Isles, Fla and is, of course, fully commissionable to you.  To book the Better Tomorrows rate for your customer, visit www.starwoodpro.com today and view full program terms and conditions.

For 2009 we look to continue our record high global development with nearly 500 hotels in development, representing 110,000 rooms.  This year we will open nearly 100 hotels around the world, and we expect to surpass that goal in 2010 and will reach our 1,000 hotel.  And we will continue to focus on our travel professional relationships, delivering more robust solutions to improving profit performance for all our mutual benefit. Stay tuned for additional exciting news from Starwood.

At Starwood Hotels & Resorts, we’ve always believed in the value of Travel Professionals, and our quest is to continue to expand business with the best of you. If you haven’t had the chance to visit www.StarwoodPro.com lately, we recommend stopping by today. Bookmark our Special Offers page at www.StarwoodPro.com/offers, so you’ll always have a go-to resource for the industry’s best offers close at hand.

Visit www.Starwoodpro.com