Starwood Hotels IMC Strategies and Brand Equity

Overview of Starwood Hotels and Resorts

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the world's largest luxury hotel chains. It is an American multinational corporation that owns, operates, manages, and franchises luxury hotels, resorts, residences, vacation ownership properties, and spas. With more than 1,100 hotels, resorts, and properties in nearly 100 countries, it maintains a truly global footprint. Its internationally recognized hotel brands include Sheraton, St. Regis, Le Méridien, W Hotels, Four Points by Sheraton, The Luxury Collection, Element, Aloft, and Westin. Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. manages 48% of its hotels and resorts while 46% have been franchised to private investors from around the world. It directly owns only 6% of its total hotels, resorts, spas, and vacation ownership properties. At the time of writing, the company employed nearly 171,000 people, with more than a quarter based in the United States (Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 2013).

Founded as Starwood Lodging—a real estate investment trust—in 1969, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has become one of the most competitive high-end hospitality corporations in the world. It is headquartered in Stamford, a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Starwood Hotels also operates a well-regarded loyalty program called the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), which allows members to enjoy numerous facilities and luxury amenities across all Starwood brands (Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 2013).

Centralized Marketing Channels

Minimized Abandoned Reservation Calls (MARS)

In order to serve its customers more effectively and efficiently, Starwood Hotels and Resorts maintains the Minimized Abandoned Reservation Calls (MARS) system across its hotels and properties. This system operates 24 hours a day and serves as a central hub for all hotels, resorts, vacation properties, and spas owned, managed, and franchised by Starwood Hotels. All of these properties can communicate and route their reservation calls to Customer Care Center employees in order to ensure efficient bookings. MARS is one of the most effective customer service tools offered by Starwood Hotels and Resorts. It not only helps retain and satisfy existing customers, but also functions as a word-of-mouth strategy for attracting new ones (Keller, Parameswaran, & Jacob, 2011).

By offering a high level of convenience and efficiency, this service has also become a significant source of brand equity enhancement for the company. Starwood Hotels and Resorts promotes MARS across all major marketing and promotional channels, including television, newspapers, its marketing website, social media platforms, and publications targeting both internal and external customers and primary stakeholders.

Sales and Marketing Strategies

As one of the largest luxury hotel chains in the world—with 1,162 hotels and distinguished properties—Starwood Hotels and Resorts benefits from marketing and sales activities that enhance brand awareness and improve sales performance globally. Its extensive promotional campaigns, advertisements, and other marketing activities across both digital and traditional channels greatly support its business partners and franchisee hotels.

Sales Training Programs

In addition to marketing and promotional campaigns, Starwood Hotels and Resorts runs comprehensive sales training programs for its internal associates, including the sales force. The Field Marketing Team, as well as sales staff from all hotels and properties across the company, participates in these programs. The primary purpose is to increase the skills, knowledge, and competencies of sales personnel with the aim of improving overall sales performance (Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 2013).

The Sales and Field Marketing Teams formulate long-term strategies and short-term tactics through these programs. By participating, all franchised, managed, and self-owned hotels of the company have observed significant improvements in revenue—for example, reportedly generating $25 for every single dollar spent on these programs (Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 2013).

Marketing Website

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. maintains a comprehensive integrated marketing communications approach through its official marketing website, which digitally presents the company to the outside world. The website contains all types of information that internal and external customers and primary stakeholders may need—including a complete portfolio of the company covering its brands, ownership structure, global citizenship efforts, franchise operations, management services, development support activities, and geographic divisions. The websites of all branded hotels also showcase interiors and exteriors through media galleries, videos, and photographs (Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 2013).

Other important sections of the website include Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), hotel-finding tools and detailed booking information, room availability and service listings, contact information, and a full range of promotional offers such as resort offers, spa offers, partner offers, weekend packages, and beach offers.

The website also communicates certain guarantees to customers. For example, Starwood Hotels and Resorts promises its customers the best rates on hotel rooms, spas, and recreational services. It also recommends top destinations and offers assistance in travel planning.

Guest Reviews

The Guest Reviews section of the website provides verified testimonials from the company's customers. Upon departing from its hotels, resorts, and spas, customers are invited to rate their experience and share their impressions. This section is an important component of the company's IMC strategy: when customers share their opinions and testimonials, those accounts serve as word-of-mouth marketing for future customers and potential investors (Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 2013).

Because these reviews and testimonials increase brand awareness and share positive customer experiences on one of the company's most visited marketing channels, they become a meaningful driver of brand equity.

Customer Relationship Management Strategies

Customer Contact and Call Centers

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. maintains a specialized workforce that serves customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call center agents at its Customer Care and Contact Centers received 20 million telephone calls in 2012 alone. These telephonic services are provided in 25 languages, making it convenient for customers worldwide to obtain information before visiting hotels or booking rooms (Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 2013).

Call center agents and customer care representatives assist customers across all aspects of their inquiries—from simple room bookings to providing destination information, weather conditions, and details about in-house and outdoor facilities and services. By delivering highly efficient customer service over the phone, Starwood Hotels and Resorts works to build and maintain strong customer relationships (Brassington & Pettitt, 2006). All of the company's IMC strategies are ultimately centered on satisfying its most important stakeholder: the customer (Gustafsson, Johnson, & Roos, 2005).

Branded Web Channels

In addition to the official marketing website, Starwood Hotels and Resorts brands are also promoted through branded web channels. These channels are operated by booking agents who handle customer queries, locate available rooms and services across branded hotels and resorts, and confirm bookings on behalf of customers. In total, these branded web channels recorded 334 million visits during the previous year.

Beyond customer care and booking services, these branded web channels also play a significant role in increasing brand awareness and improving marketing performance. They introduce the company's hotels, resorts, vacation properties, and spas to potential customers and investors worldwide. Drawing on their knowledge and available data, booking agents recommend the best options suited to the personal and business needs of individual and corporate clients respectively.

Collectively, the branded web channels—supported by customer call centers, MARS, sales training programs, and the marketing website—boost the company's total room revenues by an estimated 50% (Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 2013).

Conclusion

By providing highly efficient customer services and meeting the expectations of its business associates and investors, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has established itself as one of the most recognized hotel brands in the world. Its IMC strategies are fundamentally centered on satisfying customer needs and meeting their expectations at every touchpoint. The primary purpose of its various IMC tools is to ensure that all marketing and promotional activities are aligned with the company's ultimate strategic objectives (Chitty, 2011).

The major IMC strategies practiced by Starwood Hotels and Resorts for its worldwide operations include the Minimized Abandoned Reservation Calls (MARS) system, a comprehensive marketing website, sales training programs for the sales force and field marketing teams, branded web channels, the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) loyalty program, social media marketing and targeted content creation for advertisements and promotional campaigns, Customer Contact and Call Centers, and guest reviews published on the official website.

On one hand, these IMC strategies and extensive promotional campaigns absorb a significant portion of the marketing budget and place a financial burden on profitability (Shimp, 2003). On the other hand, they contribute substantially to increasing the company's brand equity (Temporal, 2010; Verma, 2006). Across all its IMC tools and strategies, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. uses its logo, brand promise, portfolio, and major brand highlights to convey its worldwide recognition to both new and existing customers. The customer care centers, SPG program, branded web channels, MARS system, and guest reviews all play their respective roles in building brand awareness among potential customers and attracting new investors from around the world (Kapferer, 2012).

References

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