| By Megan Rowe, Managing Editor, E-Hospitality.com, [email protected],
October 2000
When the predecessor of Starwood Hotels & Resorts first took a stake in the Westin chain five years ago, the company had been buffeted by a series of owners and management teams in a short time. And while it was an established, respected brand, the system�s growth had stalled, leaving just under 100 properties�certainly enough for a hotel chain, especially in the subluxury sector, but not quite enough to register on most travelers� radar. Westin may have had a loyal audience, but that audience probably wasn�t huge and wasn�t growing. Today, the 70-year-old brand is reinvigorated, thanks to some sassy
marketing moves and one crucial addition�the Heavenly Bed�that helped set
Westin apart from its many competitors.
About 90 days later, Westin launched the �Who is she sleeping with?� campaign, a racy attention-grabber. The cheeky ads, designed to differentiate Westin from its competitors, which lean toward the more traditional marketing approach, have continued. The latest round, �RSVP Westin,� uses formal-looking invitations to promote Westin�s beds and other amenities in an irreverent style. Evaluating the brand from a guest�s standpoint, not an operator�s, inspired another more recent Sternlicht brainchild: the Heavenly Bed. The bed--a cloudy, white 10-layer confection--dominates the guestroom. A $30-million investment, it stands as a monument to providing a good night�s sleep, what Sternlicht saw as a core competency for a hotel. It has also inspired a rash of copycats; Marriott just announced it will be adding a similar design to some of its Marriott and Renaissance properties, and designers are specifying comforters more often these days. A panel tested 40 different mattresses and a variety of pillows, and the company hired a design team to come up with the look. Members tested white, off-white and beige for stain resistance, and they decided the white would be easiest to maintain. The color had the most visual impact as well. �You walk in, and it�s a �wow,�� Brush says. The effect of the bed �has exceeded everyone�s expectations unbelievably,� Brush says. She says �the halo effect� (no pun intended) has pushed overall guest satisfaction scores up 5.8%. Scores of perceived cleanliness are up 12%. �The feeling is if these people can maintain a bright, white luscious bed like that, the entire hotel must be spotless,� she says. More important, business is up and surveys show that guests are willing to pay $12-$20 more a night to stay in a room with a Heavenly Bed. Guests buy three of the beds a day to take home. Despite its impact, the bed is only one aspect of a sharper focus on design for Westin. Under Starwood�s ownership, the chain developed model rooms for the first time. �We haven�t been a cookie cutter brand and we don�t want to start now,� Brush says. But the model rooms, along with a �Westin Look Book,� help designers and developers achieve some level of consistency. �Every developer we talk to, every GM, every ad agency can look at it and say, �I get it, that�s a Westin,�� Brush says. Starwood has also revitalized Westin�s development. In its first 65 years, the chain grew to 90-95 hotels; within the last five, it has expanded to 121. Earlier this year, Starwood converted nine Luxury Collection hotels in Europe to Westins. �That sent two messages,� Brush says. �First, that we�re here in Europe now. It also made a very, very positive statement about the quality of the brand.� Megan Rowe is the Managing Editor, E-Hospitality.com, and can be reached at [email protected] |
