Starwood is one of me worlds largest hotel companies, with more than 750 owned, managed, and franchised properties in more than 80 countries. The company's lodging brands include The Luxury Collection, SL Regis, Sheraton, ?stÌi. Four Points, and W Hotels. Its hotels regularly pear on lists of lop hotels around the world. On any given night. guests In the hotels may be indí dual leisure travelers, Independent business guests, or part of a meeting or convention.

When guests stay at 8 Stanwood properly as part of a meeting or convention, arrangements are typically made by a meetìng pianner. The meeting planner works with a Iodation to arrange meeting facilities, banquet rooms, lodging. and events tar participants. Prior to 2002. the company’s ln&v1du properties had their own approaches to convention planning. Yet no consistent coordinated program within or across brands made it easy for meeting planners lo de business with Starwood. For example, paperwork for confirming program details, rooms, and food and beverage requirements differed between properties and brands Sorne hotels had diagram of meeting space. white others did not. Technology available for meeting rooms varied widely, and a hotel Raison was not always immediately available during the event in case a need arose.

Recognizing that Starwood future growth and success relied heavily on its relationship with meeting planners, the company held focus oups to gather information about their needs and expectations, One clear priority emerged: consistency in the meetIng planning process, whether that meeting was held at the Sheraton m New York, the Westin Kierland in Phoereç or the W Hotel in Lakeshore, Chicago. Such a program could create consistency across all brands, and generate loyalty and increased revenues from those meeting planners who drive large volumes of business to Starwood properties annually.

As a result of the meeting, Starwood created the Starwood Preferred Planner program. Every hotel property now has the same paperwork for the meeting planning process, and shares that paperwork electronically across properties and brands. Contracts were standardized and new standards created to recognize and reward frequent VIP meeting planners. Each meeting assigned a "Slar Meeting Concierge" whose sole responsibility is to anticipate and fulfill any needs of the meeting planner during the event, Handheld Nextel radio phones are now issued at check-In to the meeting planners at no extra charge so that they have 24-hour access to the concierge.

To measure the performance of the new process. Starwood set high internal targets for scores on the surveys given to meeting planners after their events concluded. For instance, at the Luxury Collection and St. Regis brands, individually meeting scores must be 4.56 on a 5-point scale. At the Westin and W Hotels, scores must be above 4.35 on the 5-point scale. Scores from Sheraton properties must exceed 4.30, and Four Points hotels have a target of 4.25 on the 5-poW scale. Because the expectations for an airport location one-day meeting (not held at the SL RegIs or Luxury Collection) differ from a multiday resort experience, the targets reflect those expectations.

Il 2002. Starwood standardized is operating processes so that ìt could measure, improve, arid uitmaIeIy grow its convention business. Each meeting is assigned a Star Meeting Concierge who works closely with meeting planners

QUESTIONS
1. What ae the key inputs and outputs associated with Starwood's new meeting planning process?
2. How does the meeting planning process at Starwood Interact with the following core processes in their hotels?

a. Customer relations (internal and external)
b. New service or product development
c. Order fulfillment
d. Supplier relationship