Starwood 2003 Annual Report Download - page 5

IT IS INDEED REMARKABLE THAT GIVEN WORLD EVENTS,
WE NOT ONLY ENDURED BUT PROSPERED IN 2003.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2004 AND BEYOND, IAMVERY
OPTIMISTIC AND HAVE INCREASED OUR EXPECTATIONS...
optimistic and have increased our expectations
for cash flow and earnings significantly. On the
macro level, new hotel supply is at a decade low.
Our own rebound is fueled by the many different
“arrows in our quiver” some internal – such as
Bliss, W Hotels, Condo Hotels, SVO, new hotels
and some external – the cyclical rebound of
our large urban hotels powered by our global
footprint. In addition, we have a full suite of new
product launches, services and programs which
will carry on our tradition of brand innovation
that will continue to separate us from our more
traditional competitors. On the technology front,
we are investing heavily in building a world-class
infrastructure to communicate with our guests in
ways heretofore unavailable to us and which will
allow us to price our inventory in a far superior
manner. Our development pipelines are full, Six
Sigma is blossoming and productivity is increasing.
And, so I felt it was time for me to hand the reigns
to a new CEO. Our company is in great shape.
I have accomplished much of what I set out to do.
I wanted to differentiate by design. I wanted to
create emotional brands. I wanted to build a
culture of which we could be proud. I wanted to
ensure the stability, survival and growth of our
enterprise. I wanted the W seedling to reach
adolescence. And, I wanted to be able to hand my
successor a top tier executive team and 110,000
motivated co-workers. I firmly believe the
strength of a company is in mining the talents,
disciplines and ideas in the diversity of its
workplace and their lessons learned. And so, our
executive team has been built with executives
from GE, McKinsey, Bristol Myers, Safeway Stores,
Disney, Sabre, Jones Apparel and Starbucks. The
new CEO will assume leadership of a team that
has proven themselves through unimaginably
trying times and who embrace a culture of
excellence, change and caring.
When my successor is named, I will become
Executive Chairman enabling me to reduce my
day-to-day role and focus on long-term strategy,
capital investment, real estate, ambassadorial
duties, and nurture and support of the W brand.
While I will continue to be involved in the
Company, it is in some ways a goodbye. It has
been a terrific, challenging and enlightening
odyssey. I do believe that today our company is
the one to watch (and own!) in the hotel category.
We have a saying at Starwood which I think
captures our energy and drive for excellence,
“Never bored!” We must now innovate in
operations, reducing costs and increase speed to
market. We still have tremendous potential and
I am confident our enterprise will prosper in the
coming decade. As I’ve traveled the world with
Starwood, I will miss most our wonderful people
who have taught me so much, and helped me
fulfill my vision and build a wonderful company.
Starwood has been an enormous part of my life,
an all-consuming passion. I am very proud to
have watched us grow, prosper and indeed win.
I am delighted to witness the culture of excellence
I so very much wanted to build, the “Starwood
Soul”, take hold and root – it’s a culture built upon
intellectual curiosity, compassion, respect,
honesty, integrity for the individual and on the
business mantras of innovation, creativity,
courage, and commitment.
I must thank you, our shareholders, who endured
our cycles and my unusual “tell it like you see it”
style. I also thank our Board of Directors who have
been steadfast in supporting our vision for the
future and for their dedication to your company.
And finally, we must all thank our associates for
their endurance, perseverance, and dedication
through the September 11 attacks, wars, blackouts,
SARS, hoof and mouth disease, earthquakes
and significant challenges. Starwood is poised
for greatness. Thank you all.
Barry Sternlicht
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer