Starwood accused of mismanagement in Tahiti
Jan 11, 2009, 5:49 am
#1
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Starwood accused of mismanagement in Tahiti
Louis Wane's decision to kick Starwood out of the management of the Sheratons in Tahiti and Moorea as well as the Bora Bora Nui is starting to turn nasty, and may make it impossible for Starwood to continue with the St Regis Bora Bora too.
Consider the following statement which his company owning the hotels has just released:
The owning companies of three hotels that the Sheraton group is due to stop managing later this year has announced in the local news media that they were unsatisfied with the management of the Sheraton Hotel Tahiti, the Sheraton Moorea Lagoon and the Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa.
A statement by the "owning companies" that did not contain the names of the firms emphasizes that it was not the Starwood Group who took the initiative for the Sheraton's departure.
The end of the Sheraton's management contracts sometime during 2009 at a date still not specified by Starwood, Sheraton or the owning companies "is in reality only the result of unsatisfactory performances for the owners of the three hotels", according to the published statement.
However, the statement added, "Under no circumstances should the departure of Starwood be regarded as being related to the tourism industry's difficulties in French Polynesia." This was a reference to 2008, which, through November, was shaping up as Tahiti's worst tourism industry year since 2002.
"Negotiations are underway with a prestigious hotel chain of international renown to take over" the management of the three hotels, the owning companies' statement continued
The plan up to now has been for Hilton to take over those three properties while Starwood would continue with the St Regis, with back office staff working with both chains.
But now that the owners have started to snipe at Starwood in public, I'm really struggling to see how this can happen.
Consider the following statement which his company owning the hotels has just released:
The owning companies of three hotels that the Sheraton group is due to stop managing later this year has announced in the local news media that they were unsatisfied with the management of the Sheraton Hotel Tahiti, the Sheraton Moorea Lagoon and the Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa.
A statement by the "owning companies" that did not contain the names of the firms emphasizes that it was not the Starwood Group who took the initiative for the Sheraton's departure.
The end of the Sheraton's management contracts sometime during 2009 at a date still not specified by Starwood, Sheraton or the owning companies "is in reality only the result of unsatisfactory performances for the owners of the three hotels", according to the published statement.
However, the statement added, "Under no circumstances should the departure of Starwood be regarded as being related to the tourism industry's difficulties in French Polynesia." This was a reference to 2008, which, through November, was shaping up as Tahiti's worst tourism industry year since 2002.
"Negotiations are underway with a prestigious hotel chain of international renown to take over" the management of the three hotels, the owning companies' statement continued
The plan up to now has been for Hilton to take over those three properties while Starwood would continue with the St Regis, with back office staff working with both chains.
But now that the owners have started to snipe at Starwood in public, I'm really struggling to see how this can happen.
Jan 11, 2009, 7:16 am
#2
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I have no idea what actually happening with these properties but when companies come out and make announcements like that it normally means the actual reason is exactly that which they seek to deny.
What they are saying is that since Starwood mismanaged the properties they are now going to negotiate a much better deal right in the middle of the worst downturn in a decade
Really now?
mike
What they are saying is that since Starwood mismanaged the properties they are now going to negotiate a much better deal right in the middle of the worst downturn in a decade
Really now?
mike
Jan 11, 2009, 8:54 am
#3
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Well, SPG's loss is Hilton's gain. As many of us have deep links with both programs, at least most of us should come out ok.
In fact, as I noted in a Hilton thread, the point cost of staying at lest one of the properies has declined.
20,000 -25,000 SPG points per night vs. approx 31,000 HHonors points per night on a 4 night AXON award. Inasmuch as most people will contemplate spending at least 4 nights at such a remote loction, I think that it is now a better value under the Hilton program. ^
In fact, as I noted in a Hilton thread, the point cost of staying at lest one of the properies has declined.
20,000 -25,000 SPG points per night vs. approx 31,000 HHonors points per night on a 4 night AXON award. Inasmuch as most people will contemplate spending at least 4 nights at such a remote loction, I think that it is now a better value under the Hilton program. ^
Jan 11, 2009, 10:27 am
#4
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You will pay fewer points with Hilton (at least, once you normalize the two currencies). But don't ever expect to see an Overwater Bungalow at Bora Bora Nui on an award stay without a cash supplement.
Jan 11, 2009, 11:19 am
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I'm not sure I really understand what's going on here. What is clear is that there was dissatisfaction with Starwood management. But its unclear what exactly happened? Is this dissatisfaction due to lack of revenue, treatment of employees....
It could really be anything...
Do we have any details as to what the frustration is all about...?
It could really be anything...
Do we have any details as to what the frustration is all about...?
Jan 11, 2009, 11:55 am
#7
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No journalistic source (WSJ, Bloomberg, Financial Times...) is given in the original posting. How the backroom whinings of these people, presented as an excerpt from a company press release, looking to negotiate a sweeter termination deal with Starwood should belong on FlyerTalk is wholly lost on me.
Last edited by 3Cforme; Jan 11, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Jan 11, 2009, 12:40 pm
#8
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I was over on the Hilton board and while Moorea and Bora Bora are announced as new Hilton properties no one knows anything about the Sheraton Tahiti. I want to stay there next year for a couple days and it is so much more conveniently loacted than Le Meridien. It currently goes for 10,000 Starpoints or 4000 plus $60 cash and pay. I just wish Starwood would give more information on exact dates.
Jan 11, 2009, 3:10 pm
#9
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It's not clear that we as FlyerTalkers have a reason to care. Properties change management companies all the time. Properties change brand flags all the time.
No journalistic source (WSJ, Bloomberg, Financial Times...) is given in the original posting. How the backroom whinings of these people, presented as an excerpt from a company press release, looking to negotiate a sweeter termination deal with Starwood should belong on FlyerTalk is wholly lost on me.
No journalistic source (WSJ, Bloomberg, Financial Times...) is given in the original posting. How the backroom whinings of these people, presented as an excerpt from a company press release, looking to negotiate a sweeter termination deal with Starwood should belong on FlyerTalk is wholly lost on me.
I too thought it suspect the OP wasn't citing a news article or interview and no link to the quoted document was given.
Jan 11, 2009, 3:54 pm
#10
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Indeed, where this really hurts is award bookings because of course Starwood continues to take them but whether or how they'll be honored after the changeover remains an open question.
I would say that Starwood certainly has an obligation to make good on award reservations that it is currently accepting, in cases where it knows full well that the hotel will no longer be affiliated with the brand as of the date of the reservation.
In other words, if SPG is accepting reservations that it knows or has reason to know that it will likely be unable to fulfill it seems like there'd be a pretty strong claim by anyone so disadvantaged.
I would say that Starwood certainly has an obligation to make good on award reservations that it is currently accepting, in cases where it knows full well that the hotel will no longer be affiliated with the brand as of the date of the reservation.
In other words, if SPG is accepting reservations that it knows or has reason to know that it will likely be unable to fulfill it seems like there'd be a pretty strong claim by anyone so disadvantaged.
Jan 11, 2009, 4:54 pm
#11
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From my experience in Oct 2007, the Sheraton in Moorea was managed extremely poorly. I chalked it up to being in the middle of nowhere with a laid back local attitude until we left for a week at the Le Merrien in Bora Bora which is one of the BEST managed hotels I've ever stayed at.
All in all, it's paradise and even crappy service, high prices and poor management can't ruin it.
All in all, it's paradise and even crappy service, high prices and poor management can't ruin it.
Jan 11, 2009, 4:58 pm
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http://www.tahitipresse.pf/
The article in question was posted at 1101am on 9 January 2001, and is in the Tourism section.
I didn't for a second blame Starwood or say that it is any of our business in my post.
I pointed out that with the owners badmouthing Starwood in public it is hard to see how Starwood can keep running the St Regis, which has the same owners. And I suspect that that is the owners' intention.
Jan 11, 2009, 5:39 pm
#13
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It is available in English. Ain't Google a great thing!
http://www.tahitipresse.pf/index.cfm...e=26366&lang=2
Starwood announces pullout from Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora hotels
(Tahitipresse) - Starwood Hotels & Resorts has announced its management contract at three hotels in French Polynesia will come to an end at a so far unspecified date during 2009.
The three hotels, all owned by local businessman Louis Wane, are the 200-room Sheraton Hotel Tahiti Resort & Spa, the 103-bungalow Sheraton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa and the 120-suite/villa Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa, which is part of Starwood's Luxury Collection.
There have been reliable but unconfirmed reports that Wane has held talks with Hilton Hotels as a potential new group to take over from the Sheraton in the management of the three hotels.
Starwood issued a news release on Dec. 30 that was posted on several Internet Web sites announcing that the hotel group and Wane had reached a "mutual agreement" for Starwood to no longer manage the three resorts. "The effective date will be during 2009."
But the release from the group's White Plains, N.Y., headquarters added, "Starwood will continue to manage three other award-winning properties" in French Polynesia. They are the 90-villa St. Regis Resort Bora Bora, the 150-room Le Méridien Tahiti and the 99-bungalow Le Méridien Bora Bora.
"Starwood has operated both the Sheraton Hotel Tahiti and the Sheraton Moorea since August 2000 . . . and the Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa since February 2002," the release noted.
Sheraton replaced the Hawaii-based international hotel group Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, which managed the Outrigger Hotel Tahiti from July 1999 until August 2000. The Outrigger management began after the former Hotel Tahiti, one of Tahiti's first and one of its most famous international hotels dating back to the early 1960s, was torn down and rebuilt as a modern resort.
Starwood is described by Forbes magazine as "a worldwide hospitality network of almost 900 full-service hotels, vacation ownership resorts and residential developments serving two markets: luxury and upscale".
On the Forbes Global 2000 for 2008 Starwood Hotels had a rank of 916 compared with a 703 ranking in 2007 among the list of 2,000 worldwide companies.
The Starwood group also includes W Hotels, Westin and Four Points by Sheraton. Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is Starwood's largest and second oldest brand, with Westin being the oldest.
In November, the Sheraton Hotel Tahiti signed a protocol agreement ending a five-day strike that forced management to transfer guests to other hotels. The strike and negotiations focused on the amount of payments for 18 hotel employees who were laid off for economic reasons.
Union officials and the hotel's management reached an agreement on the amount of separation pay for the 18 employees that was higher than what is required by law, Sheraton Hotel Tahiti General Manager Laurent Garrido.
Due to Tahiti's ongoing struggling tourism industry stemming from the global financial crisis, the hotel experienced a lower turnover and increased costs during 2008, he said.
The outlook for 2009 is pessimistic, coupled with the opening of two new hotels on the island of Tahiti that will add 220 rooms to the market, Garrido said.
That is what led to management proposing to the labor union in early September early retirements, reclassifications and the elimination of fixed-term contracts for employees.
The hotel initially wanted to reduce its staff by 32 employees, but end up accepting 18
(Tahitipresse) - Starwood Hotels & Resorts has announced its management contract at three hotels in French Polynesia will come to an end at a so far unspecified date during 2009.
The three hotels, all owned by local businessman Louis Wane, are the 200-room Sheraton Hotel Tahiti Resort & Spa, the 103-bungalow Sheraton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa and the 120-suite/villa Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa, which is part of Starwood's Luxury Collection.
There have been reliable but unconfirmed reports that Wane has held talks with Hilton Hotels as a potential new group to take over from the Sheraton in the management of the three hotels.
Starwood issued a news release on Dec. 30 that was posted on several Internet Web sites announcing that the hotel group and Wane had reached a "mutual agreement" for Starwood to no longer manage the three resorts. "The effective date will be during 2009."
But the release from the group's White Plains, N.Y., headquarters added, "Starwood will continue to manage three other award-winning properties" in French Polynesia. They are the 90-villa St. Regis Resort Bora Bora, the 150-room Le Méridien Tahiti and the 99-bungalow Le Méridien Bora Bora.
"Starwood has operated both the Sheraton Hotel Tahiti and the Sheraton Moorea since August 2000 . . . and the Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa since February 2002," the release noted.
Sheraton replaced the Hawaii-based international hotel group Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, which managed the Outrigger Hotel Tahiti from July 1999 until August 2000. The Outrigger management began after the former Hotel Tahiti, one of Tahiti's first and one of its most famous international hotels dating back to the early 1960s, was torn down and rebuilt as a modern resort.
Starwood is described by Forbes magazine as "a worldwide hospitality network of almost 900 full-service hotels, vacation ownership resorts and residential developments serving two markets: luxury and upscale".
On the Forbes Global 2000 for 2008 Starwood Hotels had a rank of 916 compared with a 703 ranking in 2007 among the list of 2,000 worldwide companies.
The Starwood group also includes W Hotels, Westin and Four Points by Sheraton. Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is Starwood's largest and second oldest brand, with Westin being the oldest.
In November, the Sheraton Hotel Tahiti signed a protocol agreement ending a five-day strike that forced management to transfer guests to other hotels. The strike and negotiations focused on the amount of payments for 18 hotel employees who were laid off for economic reasons.
Union officials and the hotel's management reached an agreement on the amount of separation pay for the 18 employees that was higher than what is required by law, Sheraton Hotel Tahiti General Manager Laurent Garrido.
Due to Tahiti's ongoing struggling tourism industry stemming from the global financial crisis, the hotel experienced a lower turnover and increased costs during 2008, he said.
The outlook for 2009 is pessimistic, coupled with the opening of two new hotels on the island of Tahiti that will add 220 rooms to the market, Garrido said.
That is what led to management proposing to the labor union in early September early retirements, reclassifications and the elimination of fixed-term contracts for employees.
The hotel initially wanted to reduce its staff by 32 employees, but end up accepting 18
Jan 11, 2009, 5:51 pm
#14
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I'm not sure I really understand what's going on here. What is clear is that there was dissatisfaction with Starwood management. But its unclear what exactly happened? Is this dissatisfaction due to lack of revenue, treatment of employees....
It could really be anything...
Do we have any details as to what the frustration is all about...?
It could really be anything...
Do we have any details as to what the frustration is all about...?
Jan 11, 2009, 9:11 pm
#15
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Having just stayed in PPT and MOZ at those properties... FIRE ALL THE STAFF. the serivce was just poor at best (though not as bad as the Sheraton and Westin in the Bahamas.... nothing could be that bad). I cannot fault *W for that. As for BOB I recommend LM. Wonderful property!