Starwood 2004 Annual Report Download - page 19

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 19 of the 2004 Starwood annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 139

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126
  • 127
  • 128
  • 129
  • 130
  • 131
  • 132
  • 133
  • 134
  • 135
  • 136
  • 137
  • 138
  • 139

serving guests for more than 60 years. Starwood Vacation Ownership (and its predecessor, Vistana, Inc.) has
been selling VOIs for more than 20 years.
Our principal executive oÇces are located at 1111 Westchester Avenue, White Plains, New York 10604,
and our telephone number is (914) 640-8100.
For a discussion of our revenues, proÑts, assets and geographical segments, see the notes to Ñnancial
statements of this Joint Annual Report. For additional information concerning our business, see Item 2.
Properties, of this Joint Annual Report.
Competitive Strengths
Management believes that the following factors contribute to our position as a leader in the lodging and
vacation ownership industry and provide a foundation for the Company's business strategy:
Brand Strength. We have assumed a leadership position in markets worldwide based on our superior
global distribution, coupled with strong brands and brand recognition. Our upscale and luxury brands continue
to capture market share from our competitors by aggressively cultivating new customers while maintaining
loyalty among the world's most active travelers. The strength of our brands is evidenced, in part, by the
superior ratings received from our hotel guests and from industry publications. In 2004 we had more than 30 of
our hotels on the Condπe Nast Traveler's 2004 Readers Choice Awards List, including four hotels on their
""Top 100 Best Hotels in the World.'' For the third year in a row we were named the ""World's Leading Hotel
Group'' at the World Travel Awards.
Frequent Guest Program. Our loyalty program, Starwood Preferred Guest» (""SPG''), has over
22 million members and since its inception in 1999, has been awarded the Hotel Program of the Year Ñve
times by consumers via the prestigious Freddie Awards. SPG has also received awards for Best Customer
Service, Best Web Site, Best Elite-Level Program and Best Award Redemption. SPG, which was the Ñrst
loyalty program in the hotel industry with a policy of no blackout dates and no capacity controls, enables
members to redeem stays when they want and where they want. SPG yields repeat guest business due to
rewarding frequent stays and purchasers of VOIs with points towards free hotel stays and other rewards, or
airline miles with any of the participating 32 airline programs.
SigniÑcant Presence in Top Markets. Our luxury and upscale hotel and resort assets are well positioned
throughout the world. These assets are primarily located in major cities and resort areas that management
believes have historically demonstrated a strong breadth, depth and growing demand for luxury and upscale
hotels and resorts, in which the supply of sites suitable for hotel development has been limited and in which
development of such sites is relatively expensive.
Premier and Distinctive Properties. We control a distinguished and diversiÑed group of hotel properties
throughout the world, including the St. Regis in New York, New York; The Phoenician in Scottsdale,
Arizona; the Hotel Gritti Palace in Venice, Italy; the St. Regis in Beijing, China; and the Westin Palace in
Madrid, Spain. These are among the leading hotels in the industry and are at the forefront of providing the
highest quality and service. Our properties are consistently recognized as the best of the best by readers of
Condπe Nast Traveler, who are among the world's most sophisticated and discerning group of travelers. The
November 2004 edition of the Condπe Nast Traveler Magazine named four Starwood properties in the top
100 ""Best in the World'', with over 30 properties listed in the Readers' Choice Awards list. In addition, the
Condπe Nast Traveler Magazine January 2005 issue included 51 Starwood properties among its prestigious
Gold List and Gold List Reserve, more than any other hotel company.
Scale. As one of the largest hotel and leisure companies focusing on the luxury and upscale full-service
lodging market, we have the scale to support our core marketing and reservation functions. We also believe
that our scale will contribute to lower our cost of operations through purchasing economies areas such as
insurance, energy, telecommunications, technology, employee beneÑts, food and beverage, furniture, Ñxtures
and equipment and operating supplies.
11