How Starwood is Using Technology to Remain Competitive<\/u><\/p>\n Through its merger with Marriot, Starwood is hoping to cut costs and achieve a wider array of options for its guests and compete with the cost-effectiveness and breadth of Airbnb.[iv]<\/a> \u00a0Independently, however, Starwood has been \u201cleading the hospitality industry in technical innovation\u201d in order to adapt to the needs of the evolving consumer. [v]<\/a>\u00a0Starwood has prioritized technology that:<\/p>\n What else should Starwood be doing (or not doing)? <\/u><\/p>\n While Starwood has successfully leveraged technology to deliver upon some of the new areas of demand popularized by Airbnb, its eager embrace of the technological revolution may also, paradoxically, hinder the hotel\u2019s efforts to compete with Airbnb\u2019s most alluring value proposition: the ability to \u201clive like a local.\u201d\u00a0 While technology allows Starwood to compete on matters of transparency, customizability, convenience, and even emotional connectivity, technology, by its very nature, is a force of standardization that ensures that processes and procedures function identically across hotels and geographies; a guest staying at a W Hotel in Los Angeles will be able to check-in in much the same fashion as a guest in the Maldives. What\u2019s more, much of the way in which a hotel delivers an authentic and unique experience is through interaction between guests and staff- whether through an initial welcome offered in a local dialect or a concierge\u2019s vivid description of his nearby upbringing.[xi]<\/a> As robots and apps displace employees, these opportunities for crafting unique experiences become increasingly limited.<\/p>\n As it implements these technologies across its brands and regions as well as Marriot\u2019s, Starwood should take care to contextualize (or eliminate) each technological initiative as appropriate. For example, Starwood currently has its mobile check-in operating at various spa hotels in exotic regions where a personal greeting with a local beverage could prove emotionally significant. As Starwood scales its digital innovations, it should ensure that its guests feel at home but not too<\/em> at home.<\/p>\n [Word Count: 794]<\/strong><\/p>\n [i]<\/a> CBRE, \u201cTHE SHARING ECONOMY CHECKS IN: AN ANALYSIS OF AIRBNB IN THE UNITED STATES\u201d, http:\/\/www.cbrehotels.com\/EN\/Research\/Pages\/An-Analysis-of-Airbnb-in-the-United-States.aspx<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [ii]<\/a>John Devine, \u201cIs Airbnb a Threat to the Hotel Industry?\u201d, U.S. News, November 2, 2016, http:\/\/money.usnews.com\/investing\/articles\/2016-11-02\/is-airbnb-a-threat-to-the-hotel-industry<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [iii]<\/a> Suzanne Bearne, \u201cHow technology has transformed the travel industry,\u201d The Guardian, February 29, 2016 https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media-network\/2016\/feb\/29\/technology-internet-transformed-travel-industry-airbnb<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [iv]<\/a> BI Intelligence, \u201cMarriott-Starwood merger sets stage for intense competition with Airbnb,\u201d Business Insider, September 26, 2016, http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/marriott-starwood-merger-sets-stage-for-intense-competition-with-airbnb-2016-9<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [v]<\/a> Samantha Shankman, \u201cInterview: Starwood CEO on Using Technology to Improve the Guest Experience\u201d, October 22, 2014, https:\/\/skift.com\/2014\/10\/22\/interview-starwood-ceo-on-using-technology-to-improve-the-guest-experience\/<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [vi]<\/a> The International School of Hospitality, \u201cHow Technology is Changing the Hospitality Industry,\u201d http:\/\/tisoh.edu\/how-technology-is-changing-the-hospitality-industry\/<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [vii]<\/a> Note: While other properties have made use of Instagram images \u2014 or Instagram-inspired images \u2014 in their advertising, Starwood is the first to add them to its properties\u2019 websites Source: Jason Clampet, \u201c Starwood Hotels Adds Guests\u2019 Instagram Photos to Its Hotel Websites,\u201d Skift, December 11, 2014, https:\/\/skift.com\/2013\/12\/11\/starwood-hotels-adds-guests-instagram-photos-to-its-hotel-websites\/#1<\/a>, accessed November 2014.<\/p>\n [viii]<\/a> Caroline Baldwin, \u201cHow Starwood Hotels is using technology to innovate hospitality,\u201d Essential REetail, April 14, 2016, http:\/\/www.essentialretail.com\/ecommerce\/article\/570e6f41e959f-how-starwood-hotels-is-using-technology-to-innovate-hospitality<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [ix]<\/a> Suzanne Bearne, \u201cHow technology has transformed the travel industry,\u201d The Guardian, February 29, 2016 https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media-network\/2016\/feb\/29\/technology-internet-transformed-travel-industry-airbnb<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [x]<\/a> Jay Kandampully, Anil Bilgihan, and Tingting Zhang, \u201cDeveloping a people-technology hybrids model to unleash innovation and creativity: The new hospitality frontier,\u201d Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management<\/em>, (December 2015).<\/p>\n [xi]<\/a> Jeff Higley, \u201cHoteliers Embrace the Age of Authenticity,\u201d Hotel News Now, August 21, 2015, http:\/\/www.hotelnewsnow.com\/Articles\/27502\/Hoteliers-embrace-the-Age-of-Authenticity<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n Images sourced from: http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/marriott-and-starwood-merger-complete-but-airbnb-still-competition-2016-3 and\u00a0http:\/\/www.travelandleisure.com\/slideshows\/hotel-technology-starwood<\/em><\/p>\n Table is self-constructed.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The rise of Airbnb over the last several years has threatened the traditional business model of hotels, challenging them to expand their value proposition from one of luxury, consistency, and reliability to one that emphasizes transparency, customizability, convenience, emotional connection, and authentic, local experiences. Leading up to its recent acquisition by Marriot, Starwood Hotels began to leverage technological innovation to deliver upon these expectations and remain competitive with Airbnb. However, as Starwood rampantly implements technological processes across regions, is it also hindering the creation of locally-influenced guest experiences? Does technology deliver a level of standardized convenience that makes even the most remote hotels feel too much like home?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2339,"featured_media":16261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[983,2268,307,270,2314,2171,1697,55],"class_list":["post-16260","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-airbnb","category-digital-innovation-lab","category-hospitality","category-hotels","category-marriot","category-starwood","category-technological-innovation","category-technology"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/digitization-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\n![\"unnamed-25\"](\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/unnamed-25-300x225.png\")
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