Hotel Management — March 2012
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Starwood
Hotels & Resorts’
Denise Coll
The Boston native navigates nine brands in North America
The day after Super Bowl Sunday was not a pleasant one for Denise Coll, president of the North America division for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. It’s understandable when you are a native Bostonian, a diehard New England Patriots fan and live and work in an area where the fan base is New York Giants all the way. So, she did what any reasonable boss would do. “I gave my team until 9 a.m. to celebrate, then back to work,” she told Hotel Management, during our first trip to Starwood’s new headquarters in Stamford, Conn.
Luckily, Coll doesn’t have too many doleful days in her post, overseeing the breadth of Starwood’s nine hotel brands in North America. “We have been very pleased with our performance and have had great margin growth quarter after quarter,” Coll said, adding that Starwood has bested its competitors in the last seven quarters. “Hoping to make it eight,” she said.
Coll’s executive climb could have been derailed had she not switched her concentration while at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, from physical education to hospitality, a move she made in her junior year. “I had worked for Howard Johnson throughout high school—the orange roofs,” she said.
After graduation, Coll went to work at the Sheraton Boston, which at the time was the largest hotel in the city, performing an array of operational tasks. “I realized that the decision I thought was a good one, actually turned out to be a great decision,” Coll said of her career path.
She remained with Sheraton for 22 years while it was part of ITT Sheraton. When Starwood acquired Sheraton in 1998, Coll left and went to work for a local Boston developer (she wanted to remain in Massachusetts). Eventually, in 2004, Coll joined Starwood.
prudent development
Starwood follows a straightforward mantra when it comes to development: The right brand, in the right market, with the right owner. “If we start with that,” Coll said, “we have a high probability for great success. From a compliance standpoint, it’s about assuring that our brand leaders are working with owners and operators to pay attention to brand standards and requirements that keep our brands relevant and unique, while at the same time balancing the cost equation on the owner side to drive ROI.”
Branding is at the heart of what Starwood does. For Coll, it’s a perpetual process. “We continue to reinvigorate brand standards,” she said. “It started a few years back when we rolled out an initiative across brands, which was ‘building world-class brands.’ That was not just about defining the brand from a marketing perspective; we took it and began branding inside out.”
To achieve this, associates of each brand are taught what it means to bring that brand to life and how to deliver on the brand’s core values. Coll said she has service culture trainers on her staff that travel to hotels to drive the tenets home.
One brand that has been given extra attention to is Sheraton. Starwood added such features as Link@Sheraton, a communal work area in the lobby, and removed hotels that were not attaining brand standards. “In 2011, Sheraton saw an increase in market share, an increase in absolute revenue per available room and guest satisfaction scores are at the highest they’ve ever been for the brand,” Coll said. “Things we are doing really matter.”
conversion is king
These days, much of the development talk is centered on select-service brands, which are known for generating higher yields with lower construction lags than full-service hotels.
Coll has remained focused on growing Aloft, Element and Four Points by Sheraton in North America. Today, there are more than 50 Aloft hotels in North America and Starwood is on track to open its 175th Four Points this year.
Since new-build construction has enervated, Coll said that conversions are now the trend—not just for select-service, but for all nine Starwood brands. Aloft San Francisco Airport (which Starwood owns) is a conversion from a Clarion hotel and will open in late summer; Aloft Dallas was an old railroad depot before it was converted. “Looking back on 2011, 75 percent of our openings were conversions and 63 percent of new deals are future conversions across all nine brands,” Coll said. “That is what we are focused on in 2012.”
Coll also expects a healthy year for transactions, which, she acknowledged, could lead to more conversion opportunities. “A change of ownership, or refinancing, will lead to opportunities as it relates to conversions,” she said.
staying loyal
Opportunities also abound in Starwood’s loyalty program, Starwood Preferred Guest, more commonly known as SPG. In February, Starwood made the program even more robust for its platinum members by adding such benefits as 24-hour check-in and dedicated Starwood ambassadors. “We are very focused on making sure we don’t lose them,” said Coll, in reference to platinum-level members. “They are our premium customers and guests. They stay with us more often, spend more money and losing one requires we replace them with more than one entry-level SPG member.”
While Starwood’s nine brands are distinct, Coll said a typical SPG member will stay at one to three different Starwood brands.
So what’s the future for North America? Coll is bullish on the resort space and would love to have further presence in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. Asked whether Starwood had room for a 10th brand? “Never say never,” Coll said.
Hotels & Resorts’
Denise Coll
The Boston native navigates nine brands in North America
The day after Super Bowl Sunday was not a pleasant one for Denise Coll, president of the North America division for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. It’s understandable when you are a native Bostonian, a diehard New England Patriots fan and live and work in an area where the fan base is New York Giants all the way. So, she did what any reasonable boss would do. “I gave my team until 9 a.m. to celebrate, then back to work,” she told Hotel Management, during our first trip to Starwood’s new headquarters in Stamford, Conn.
Luckily, Coll doesn’t have too many doleful days in her post, overseeing the breadth of Starwood’s nine hotel brands in North America. “We have been very pleased with our performance and have had great margin growth quarter after quarter,” Coll said, adding that Starwood has bested its competitors in the last seven quarters. “Hoping to make it eight,” she said.
Coll’s executive climb could have been derailed had she not switched her concentration while at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, from physical education to hospitality, a move she made in her junior year. “I had worked for Howard Johnson throughout high school—the orange roofs,” she said.
After graduation, Coll went to work at the Sheraton Boston, which at the time was the largest hotel in the city, performing an array of operational tasks. “I realized that the decision I thought was a good one, actually turned out to be a great decision,” Coll said of her career path.
She remained with Sheraton for 22 years while it was part of ITT Sheraton. When Starwood acquired Sheraton in 1998, Coll left and went to work for a local Boston developer (she wanted to remain in Massachusetts). Eventually, in 2004, Coll joined Starwood.
prudent development
Starwood follows a straightforward mantra when it comes to development: The right brand, in the right market, with the right owner. “If we start with that,” Coll said, “we have a high probability for great success. From a compliance standpoint, it’s about assuring that our brand leaders are working with owners and operators to pay attention to brand standards and requirements that keep our brands relevant and unique, while at the same time balancing the cost equation on the owner side to drive ROI.”
Branding is at the heart of what Starwood does. For Coll, it’s a perpetual process. “We continue to reinvigorate brand standards,” she said. “It started a few years back when we rolled out an initiative across brands, which was ‘building world-class brands.’ That was not just about defining the brand from a marketing perspective; we took it and began branding inside out.”
To achieve this, associates of each brand are taught what it means to bring that brand to life and how to deliver on the brand’s core values. Coll said she has service culture trainers on her staff that travel to hotels to drive the tenets home.
One brand that has been given extra attention to is Sheraton. Starwood added such features as Link@Sheraton, a communal work area in the lobby, and removed hotels that were not attaining brand standards. “In 2011, Sheraton saw an increase in market share, an increase in absolute revenue per available room and guest satisfaction scores are at the highest they’ve ever been for the brand,” Coll said. “Things we are doing really matter.”
conversion is king
These days, much of the development talk is centered on select-service brands, which are known for generating higher yields with lower construction lags than full-service hotels.
Coll has remained focused on growing Aloft, Element and Four Points by Sheraton in North America. Today, there are more than 50 Aloft hotels in North America and Starwood is on track to open its 175th Four Points this year.
Since new-build construction has enervated, Coll said that conversions are now the trend—not just for select-service, but for all nine Starwood brands. Aloft San Francisco Airport (which Starwood owns) is a conversion from a Clarion hotel and will open in late summer; Aloft Dallas was an old railroad depot before it was converted. “Looking back on 2011, 75 percent of our openings were conversions and 63 percent of new deals are future conversions across all nine brands,” Coll said. “That is what we are focused on in 2012.”
Coll also expects a healthy year for transactions, which, she acknowledged, could lead to more conversion opportunities. “A change of ownership, or refinancing, will lead to opportunities as it relates to conversions,” she said.
staying loyal
Opportunities also abound in Starwood’s loyalty program, Starwood Preferred Guest, more commonly known as SPG. In February, Starwood made the program even more robust for its platinum members by adding such benefits as 24-hour check-in and dedicated Starwood ambassadors. “We are very focused on making sure we don’t lose them,” said Coll, in reference to platinum-level members. “They are our premium customers and guests. They stay with us more often, spend more money and losing one requires we replace them with more than one entry-level SPG member.”
While Starwood’s nine brands are distinct, Coll said a typical SPG member will stay at one to three different Starwood brands.
So what’s the future for North America? Coll is bullish on the resort space and would love to have further presence in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. Asked whether Starwood had room for a 10th brand? “Never say never,” Coll said.
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