Westin Arlington Gateway: Strategic Business Analysis

Overview of the Westin Arlington Gateway

The Westin Arlington Gateway is located at 801 North Glebe Road in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of more than 200 hotels and resorts worldwide owned by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, and the company's corporate website states that "everything we do is designed to help you feel your best." In 2016, the company launched the "Westin Well-Being Movement," a marketing strategy aimed at guests weary from the stress of traveling in a world where social and political conflicts are very real. The well-being movement promises travelers that they will "Sleep Well, Eat Well, Move Well, Feel Well, Work Well, and Play Well" (Westin).

The Westin Arlington Gateway is just a few minutes from Washington, D.C., and access to the nation's capital is available by train at the Ballston Metro Station, a short walk from the hotel. Also nearby are Arlington National Cemetery, the Artisphere, East Potomac Park, and the Kettler Capitals Iceplex where the NHL Washington Capitals play hockey.

An important fact about the Westin Arlington Gateway is that it is not only close to the nation's capital, but this upscale facility sits at the epicenter of Arlington's Ballston area, which is exploding with research companies and high-rise buildings offering office space for thousands of small and medium-sized businesses. Green spaces and pedestrian-friendly walkways and neighborhoods surround the hotel.

For the business guest, the Westin Arlington Gateway offers 10,000 square feet of meeting space, 17 meeting rooms, a flexible 7,000 square-foot ballroom, audiovisual services, and a 24-hour business center. The hotel also features an indoor pool and whirlpool, in-room spa treatments, a "Westin Kids Club," and a fitness center. Pets are welcome, and complimentary WiFi is available for SPG members. Valet parking is $29 per night. The hotel also features easily accessible power outlets on the desk of each room, a "beta-testing technology check-in option," and "Tangent," a high-tech meeting room designed for "quick, last-minute meetings" that can be rented by the hour (prweb.com).

Guests at the Westin Arlington Gateway have the option of enjoying the "variety and diversity of local activity choices ... giving them much to do after a long day" of meetings or other activities (prweb.com). The hotel recently underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation that upgraded the lobby and guest rooms and added a Starbucks Café adjacent to the lobby. The Starbucks features oversized comfortable chairs with "cluster seating" for informal conversation and family moments (prweb.com). As a central feature of the renovation, the hotel also introduced the Pinzimini Restaurant & Lounge, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The Westin Arlington Gateway turned ten years old on March 20, 2016 (prweb.com). While it carries the Westin name and belongs to the broader family of Westin hotels and resorts, this facility is actually managed by Crescent Hotels & Resorts, which operates approximately one hundred hotels in North America, including fifteen in the Washington, D.C. area (prweb.com).

When the Westin Arlington Gateway opened ten years ago, it gave a pleasant surprise to some of the first attendees at the opening ceremony. The scent of white tea filled the air, produced by "hidden vaporizers." Several dozen business people and politicians attended, and two women appeared from behind a stage and "covered themselves in two white drapes hanging from the ceiling ... the music came on and the women climbed the drapes and performed several soothing — yet daunting — acrobatic feats" (washingtonpost.com). When their acrobatics were finished, the women held up a long, light-green fabric, and a few men in tuxedoes brought scissors, cut the ribbon, and the opening was official. The hotel had originally been planned for 2001, but when hijacked jetliners struck the World Trade Center, the travel industry "collapsed" and the "project hit the shelves" (washingtonpost.com).

In the years since its opening, the Westin Arlington Gateway has become involved in a number of community and charitable organizations. For example, the hotel has sponsored the "Toys for Tots" program for underserved children at Christmas. The hotel manager stated that "being in the service industry, it is our nature to give back to our community, especially when we can make an impact in our neighborhood" (prweb.com). Another notable community event was the "Brides Against Breast Cancer" (BABC) initiative held in 2009 (Goff, 2009).

The hotel welcomed the nonprofit BABC and allowed it to display approximately 1,000 wedding gowns for future brides to review and purchase at a substantially reduced price. Most of the gowns displayed normally sell for upwards of $8,000, but BABC offered them for between $400 and $800 (Goff, p. 2). Participants were not only seeking an affordable dress — they were also supporting the "Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation," which grants wishes to women battling Stage IV breast cancer, much like the Make-A-Wish Foundation (Goff, p. 2).

Situational Analysis

The customers who patronize the Westin Arlington Gateway cannot be easily stereotyped or generalized, even though this is an expensive hotel. Typical guests include: (a) the business traveler in his mid-fifties; (b) a science instructor visiting the nearby National Science Foundation; (c) a family visiting Washington, D.C., and its famous sites with two children; and (d) a recent college graduate applying for an internship at the Smithsonian. For the recent graduate, Arlington is ranked #1 for the Best Places for Recent Grads to Find Jobs, according to the Arlington Economic Development website. Arlington is also ranked #6 among the top ten healthiest cities, which appeals to individuals and families who value clean air, public transportation, and efficient services.

As for families with children and pets, the Westin's website advertises a dog-friendly "oasis of calm." One such family brought their dog and, even before they had a chance to ask the concierge about the "Heavenly Dog Bed" mentioned in the hotel's marketing literature, a housekeeping staff member knocked on their door and delivered the bed along with a pair of water bowls. The stay was otherwise nearly perfect, except that one showerhead leaked, "the toilet screeched like a banshee when flushed," and the room was situated directly across from a noisy construction site (Krystal, 2010).

There are approximately 200 Westin Hotels and Resorts worldwide, and the company overall carries a good reputation. The "Well-Being Movement" is a compelling marketing tool, but judging from some customer complaints, Westin has work to do to improve service consistency. Regarding ownership, a Chinese consortium was challenging Marriott International's $12 billion takeover of Starwood Hotels, the operator of upscale hotel brands including Westin. That consortium offered $76 per share for Starwood, though Marriott was due a $400 million breakup fee if Starwood accepted the Chinese offer (Gara, 2016, p. 6).

A number of hotels are located in the Ballston region of Arlington, offering travelers a wide range of price points and locations. The Ballston neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia hosts significant hospitality competition. The Econo Lodge Metro caters to budget travelers at approximately $135 per night (free parking; no pets). The Hilton Hotel Arlington & Towers starts at $218 per night, is about six blocks from the Westin, has 209 rooms, and is adjacent to the Ballston Metro Station (no pets). The Comfort Inn starts at $225 per night and has 126 rooms (no pets; free parking), situated on Memorial Parkway about ten blocks from the Westin. The Holiday Inn at Ballston starts at $299 per night (no pets; $14 per night parking) and offers 221 rooms, making it the closest direct competitor. The Westin Arlington Gateway itself has 336 rooms, is pet-friendly, charges $26 per night for parking, and starts at $324 per night (HotelGuides.com).

The Westin Arlington Gateway collaborates with several vendors, including the American Hotel Register — which supplies linens, paper products, towels, pens, paper, and other supplies — and Keany Produce for fresh food used in the restaurants. The hotel buys seafood from Metro Seafood, and the electronics used in the hotel (digital technologies in rooms, including WiFi and television) are provided by the corporate owner, Starwood.

Physical/Climate: The Westin Arlington Gateway's proximity to Washington, D.C. ensures a steady stream of visitors and business travelers year-round.

Political: Because Washington, D.C. is the political capital of the United States, Arlington's hotels and business centers are frequently linked to political events. The city is a hotbed of ideological tension between conservatives and progressives, and the polarization of American society is evident throughout the region.

Social: Visiting Washington, D.C. — whether for business or leisure — involves a rich array of social activities, including dining, sightseeing, attending conventions, and participating in cocktail hours and important meetings.

Technological: Arlington is ranked #1 among best cities for Black Entrepreneurs and #1 on the list of best cities for Young Entrepreneurs (Arlington Economic Development). The area also ranks highly with highly educated millennials. Where educated professionals and entrepreneurs cluster, technology consistently serves as a primary driver.

Economic: The Arlington Economic Development group reports that gross wages for workers in Arlington average $1,545 per week, the unemployment rate is 2.5%, new business listings grew 6.4% in 2015, hotel occupancy in Arlington reached 75.9% in 2015, and retail sales increased by 1.1% in 2015.

Customer Issues and Complaints

Not every guest who stays at the Westin Arlington Gateway leaves fully satisfied. A review of posted guest feedback reveals a range of recurring problems and negative experiences.

On March 10 of the reviewed year, one customer vowed never to return. His room smelled of stale cigarette smoke, the handle on the shower came off in his hand, the hallways smelled of chlorine, and after notifying the front desk, "nothing was ever done." Another guest on March 12, 2016, also complained of cigarette smoke in both the rooms and the elevator. After complaining, "the staff didn't seem to care and offered nothing in return for the inconvenience."

A guest on March 6, 2016, described the "service as mediocre," the check-in process as "slow" (a long line of guests waited without being assisted), and the shower water as "tepid rather than hot." On January 28, 2016, a guest reported being overcharged for his room, a discrepancy he discovered only when he received his credit card statement. On January 13, a guest complained that the ice machine was not working, the room was noisy, dirty clothes from a previous guest were found under the bed, and no utensils were delivered with room service food.

On January 12, there was no soap in the room, and the restaurant and bar were described as "badly understaffed." Knocking pipes kept guests awake. On August 3, a party of twelve waited over an hour for their food, and one dish that was supposed to include shrimp arrived without any. On June 18, 2015, a guest again mentioned noisy pipes and reported that the air conditioning failed to cool the room adequately (Guest Reviews).

Security has also been an issue within the hotel. There have been reports of missing items from the housekeeping department — sheets, towels, linens, and similar items — and some guests have reported items missing from their rooms. According to the director of sales and marketing, housekeeping staff have since been trained to be fastidious about preventing theft. All housekeeping personnel are aware that cameras are positioned throughout the hotel and that the security system can track the movements of all staff, revealing which rooms were entered, when, and by whom. This level of surveillance means that any employee who considered theft would quickly be identified.

Another issue that has become apparent to management at the Westin Arlington Gateway concerns lost and found. Apparently, there is no formal system or policy for handling items that end up in the lost-and-found. The hotel is, in effect, "lost" as to what to do with found items beyond securing them in a storage room. Most items are not expensive — shirts, pants, shoes, towels, keys, sunglasses, and phone chargers are common — but occasionally the hotel does recover phones, wallets, laptop computers, and other high-value digital devices. Yet connecting those items with their rightful owners is not always straightforward. "Many times the customers never call," the manager explained.

Conclusion

This paper examined the Westin Arlington Gateway hotel, highlighting both its strengths and the areas where it falls short. Through a situational analysis, a SWOT/TOWS matrix, and Porter's Five Forces framework, a clear picture emerges of a well-positioned but operationally inconsistent property. The paper also examined in depth the problems that hotels and guests face with respect to lost items — a specific but telling indicator of overall service quality.

If a hotel is genuinely providing the customer service its marketing campaigns assert, then it must go the extra mile to ensure that guests are satisfied not only during their stay but afterward. The Westin Arlington Gateway's "Well-Being Movement" is a compelling brand promise. Making it a reality in daily operations — from responsive front-desk staff to a reliable lost-and-found system — is the work that will determine whether that promise holds.

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