Le Meridien's reservations,
distribution, loyalty and sales functions have now been fully integrated
with Starwood Hotels and Resorts allowing these hotels to be able to harness the power of Starwood's global
infrastructure and sales and marketing systems.
Le Meridien Moments Members Welcomed into Starwood Preferred Guest
As part of this integration, Moments,
the Le Meridien loyalty program, will cease to exist and Le Meridien hotels will join Starwood Preferred
Guest loyalty program. Moments members now have access to Starwood's entire global network with its 8 brands
and 850 hotels in more than 95 countries. Likewise, Starwood Preferred Guests can benefit from the addition of over 100 Le Meridien hotels, which
with its heavy international distribution nearly doubles Starwood's hotel footprint in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and increases its
distribution by nearly 30% in Asia Pacific. New destinations where Starwood Preferred Guest members can earn and redeem points include Monte
Carlo, Barcelona and Budapest.
"The assimilation of Moments into Starwood Preferred Guest not only provides members with so many more options around the globe, but also
enables Starwood to market to a whole new group of international travelers, particularly inbound travelers to the U.S. where Le Meridien has little
presence," said Javier Benito, Starwood's Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. "As we anticipated, the alignment of the Le
Meridien brand with a larger, multi-branded hotel group has terrific benefits for the brand and we are committed to enhancing revenue and
accelerating growth."
Smooth Transition Marks Major Milestone
"Completing these initial integrations, particularly the merging of the websites and loyalty programs, represents a key milestone in our transition,
which we expect to be fully complete within six months," said Michael Wale, Senior Vice President of Le Meridien Operations. "We are particularly
focused on defining the Le Meridien guest experience and footprint expansion. We see Le Meridien as a fantastic growth vehicle and we have
aggressive plans to expand the brand around the world."
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