
What We Believe: Diversity & Inclusion
Culture of Inclusion
At Starwood, we recognize and appreciate the diversity of people, ideas and
cultures, and believe that diverse experiences and people are required for our
business to succeed. We strive to create an environment that embraces the
diversity of all of our constituencies: associates, customers, guests,
owners, suppliers and shareholders. We support a culture of inclusion where
associates at every level, including the full range of backgrounds, cultures
and orientations can reach their maximum potential. We are passionate about
attracting and retaining the best and the brightest talent, unleashing their
potential and stretching them beyond their comfort zone. Through this diversity
of viewpoints, we deliver unprecedented business results by satisfying all of
our guests and customers with superior innovation and service.
Built on Diversity
Starwood Hotels & Resorts is a global organization that is built on
diversity. With seven distinct brands – Sheraton® Hotels & Resorts, Four
Points® by Sheraton Hotels, St. Regis® Hotels & Resorts, The Luxury
Collection®, Le Méridien®, W Hotels® and Westin® Hotels & Resorts -
operating in over 97 countries, we maintain an associate and customer base as
diverse as the world's population. Each brand's distinctive appeal affords us a
unique position in the global marketplace that caters to travelers of all
backgrounds and from almost every culture. Therefore, creating an environment
of inclusion for our associates, guests and suppliers is not just the right
thing to do, it is the very core of our business.
National Partnerships
Focusing on blending and mining the talents of our more than 145,000 associates
from around the world and taking care of guests who frequent our approximately
960 Starwood properties is a commitment that begins at the top of our
organization, but is the shared responsibility of each associate. By creating
national partnerships with associations focused on serving the needs and
concerns of many types of visible and invisible differences - race, gender and
sexual orientation, to name a few - we hope to have far-reaching impact by
making a difference in the markets in which we operate and the guests we
serve.
Diversity Council
Our Diversity Council is made up of senior leaders in Starwood. Its role is to
partner with other company leaders to drive the strategy forward with the
support of a dedicated staff of change agents in our Office of Diversity and
Inclusion.
Just as we approach other vital business imperatives, our Corporate
Diversity Council has developed a strategy and multiyear plan for accelerating
change, particularly in the area of representation. As an organization, we are
committed to setting the pace for the industry, raising the bar on how we
deploy and develop associates and, in the process, understand how diversity
yields business success.
Positive Messages
It takes time. We are committed to the task. Our associates must know that
embracing diversity and learning how to mine different talents and opinions in
a business like ours, improves our company, our product and all of us as
individuals. Valuing individual differences is not new here; for years, we have
offered domestic partner benefits for all of our associates without hesitation.
Through inclusion training, we reinforce positive messages. By continuing to
introduce metrics, like linking compensation to achieving diversity goals, and
clarifying the diversity goals of each department, there is a shared
understanding of how serious we are about making this an unconscious part of
how we do business everyday, everywhere for everyone.
This is the Starwood way.
Starwood is constantly looking to hire associates with unique talents,
perspectives, and backgrounds. If you believe you may have a place in Starwood,
we invite you to search for
current job openings.