Newsmaker: Kempinski's Gottwald To Lead Starwood Corporate Sales

<B> Newsmaker: Kempinski's Gottwald To Lead Starwood Corporate Sales</B>

By Maria P. Vallejo

Leaving behind seven years of sales and marketing at Kempinski Hotels, Paul Gottwald last month took on the new position of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide vice president of global corporate sales.

Gottwald is one of the last key components to complete Starwood's global sales team headed by six vice presidents. After focusing his attention for so long on Kempinski's 25 luxury hotels in Europe and Asia, Gottwald suddenly has broader scope with Starwood's 660 hotels throughout 70 countries.

His first order of business is to revise Starwood's corporate rate and frequent guest programs across the company's six brands: Caesars, Four Points, Luxury Collection/St. Regis, Sheraton, W and Westin. "From a business traveler's standpoint, they could stay at any one of those hotels and be assured that they would get the same program," Gottwald said.

Any changes to the Global Preference, Set Preference and Set programs will not take effect until 2000, allowing more corporate customers to receive greater discounts in 1999, Gottwald said. In the meantime, the program names may change, but their content will remain the same.

These programs, originally developed by Sheraton, were launched across the six brands after Starwood acquired their parent companies. Since room-night revenue requirements remained the same and volume was pooled from more properties, corporations that had separate contracts with several of the brands were able to combine their volume to qualify for a higher-tiered program--and larger discounts.

"Right now we have not increased the requirements because we are in the middle of the contract season," Gottwald said. "Customers will be recognized for the volume they spend across the brands included in the Starwood program."

The Global Preference program requires about $1 million in room revenue, along with non-volume mandates, for discounts between 10 and 40 percent. The Set Preferred program offers 10 to 30 percent discounts in return for room revenue of about $500,000. The Set program gives companies with volume too low to qualify for the other programs a minimum of a 3 percent discount.

Gottwald's team also will revamp the former Sheraton frequent guest program that was adopted Starwood-wide. The program, which will be rolled out in 2000, will incorporate certain characteristics of Westin's frequency program and add new benefits.

"We are exploring all areas to come up with some new ideas," Gottwald said. "We're going to make it one-stop shopping.