Starwood Hotels & Resorts today announced that it would add more than 12,000 new jobs in 2010. Though the company
slashed 35 percent of its sales team in late 2008, the new jobs won't include corporate sales positions on the national or global level.
The governor of Connecticut Jodi Rell announced plans for Starwood Hotels & Resorts to move its headquarters in January 2012 from White Plains, N.Y. to Stamford, Conn.'s Historic Waterfront. With the state's Department of Economic and Community Development granting Starwood a $9.5 million loan, up to $75 million in urban and industrial site reinvestment tax credits and $5 million in sales tax exemptions for building materials through the Connecticut Development Authority, "Stamford was an ideal choice," according to Starwood CEO Frits van Paasschen.
If you haven’t yet heard about the new Starwood Hotels & Resorts brand aloft, you may be living under a rock. In one of the more aggressive marketing campaigns this year, Starwood has been notifying the whole world about this W-like brand--I, for one, get multiple press releases every day! During the National Business Travel Association's annual convention in Los Angeles last week, a select group of reporters was given the opportunity to tour the Rancho Cucamonga property in California, but instead of driving the 40 miles from the L.A. Convention Center to the property, Starwood rented a helicopter. While my first helicopter ride was memorable, I was left wondering if aloft is ideal for business travelers. It's debatable.
