Notizie su Four Points
Rejuvenated Four Points Sweeps Travel-Industry Survey,Earning Number-One Ranking for Select-Service Category
White Plains, NY – March 9, 2011 – A billion-dollar rejuvenation has
paid off for Four Points by Sheraton: For the first time, the sizzling
brand from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (HOT) has earned the
number-one ranking in its category in a much-anticipated annual survey by
industry authority Business Travel News.
Business Travel News readers ranked Four Points at the top of the
select-service category across seven categories in the 2011 U.S. Hotel Chain
Survey: Meeting Facilities, Corporate Rate Program, Commission Payment
System, Quality of Food, Quality of Staff, In-Room Business Amenities, and
Overall Price/Value Relationship.
At Four Points, guests travel the way they like with genuine service and modern
style. Four Points is always an honest value, with great amenities like
free bottled water, free Wi-Fi in public spaces and free internet access in all
guestrooms. A delicious breakfast with great coffee – and refreshing,
local beer with Best BrewsSM – helps guests start and end the day
right. Four Points gives travelers everything they need to be comfortable
and productive on the road.
The winning score in this year’s survey reflects dramatic improvements for Four
Points; the brand was ranked seventh in last year’s survey, and fifth in the
2009 poll. Powerful positioning around value, comfort, and convenience
has propelled Four Points to become the third-largest brand with the
second-biggest global pipeline in Starwood’s portfolio.
As Business Travel News notes in its February 28 issue, about 80 percent
of the Four Points portfolio worldwide is new or newly updated after a massive
investment in renovations, new builds and a global growth plan. Four
Points also removed a few properties that “did not meet brand standards,”
Business Travel News reported.
“The Business Travel News survey results are really a tribute to our
associates and partners around the world, who have helped make Four Points one
of the best-loved, fastest-growing brands in the industry,” said Brian
McGuinness, Senior Vice President of Specialty Select Brands for
Starwood. “Tremendous investment went into the brand, and it’s enormously
gratifying for us that travel professionals are having the same very positive
response as our guests around the world.”
Business Travel News has been the voice of authority for corporate
travel buyers throughout North America for over 25 years. Business Travel
News' U.S. Hotel Chain Survey annually measures corporate travel
buyer opinions of the lodging brands they use. BTN emailed
corporate readers responsible for hotel-buying decisions, asking them to rate
hotels, arranged by tier, with which they did business in the past year.
Equation Research tabulated ratings from 519 respondents. Buyers
rated hotels in each segment on as many as 13 attributes, each on an ascending
numerical scale from one to five.
Four Points’ triumph in the Business Travel News survey comes as the
brand continues a turbo-charged global expansion. Four Points will open
22 new hotels around the world in 2011. Two new hotels will open in each
of several key global markets, including China, India, Thailand, and Malaysia;
twelve new properties will debut in the U.S., and one in Canada. With the
openings, Four Points will command a presence in 26 countries, up from 24 in
2010.
About Four Points by Sheraton
Great Hotels. Great Rates: With 157 Four Points hotels in 26 countries and
territories, travelers can find a great stay with modern style, genuine service
and timeless comfort they’re looking for, all around the world. From
Santiago to Shanghai and Milan to Milwaukee, Four Points hotels can be found in
big urban centers, by the airport, near the beach, and in the suburbs. A
recent $1 billion invested in renovations, conversions, and new-build hotels
has made the brand stronger than ever.
Four Points by Sheraton, like all brands within Starwood’s portfolio, is proud
to offer the Starwood Preferred Guest® program, which offers a breakthrough
policy of no blackout dates on Free Night Awards. To learn more, visit www.spg.com.
About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and
leisure companies in the world with 1025 properties in 100 countries and
territories with 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.
Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels,
resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St.
Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four
Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and Element
SM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership,
Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation
interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
# # #
(Note: This press release contains
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that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those
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and uncertainties are presented in detail in our filings with the Securities
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forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give
no assurance that our expectations will be attained or that results and events
will not materially differ. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.)
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the
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Data di pubblicazione dell'articolo: 09/03/2011

