Global Update
Frits ’ lens
Starwood ’ S top exec talkS perSonalization , Social media , F & B proFitS , millennialS , the cycle and more .
Big plans for langham 12
la Quinta ’ s latest at check-in 14
kimpton ’ s lgBt outreach 14
Updates
soneva ’ s steady pace 16
the gostelow report 18
on the weB 20
Frits van Paasschen always appears to think and act a bit differently from other hotel industry CEOs . The president and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide for almost seven years now is fascinated by , and often focused on , consumer brand behavior . He says don ’ t be easily fooled by sometimes misleading demographic shifts , and he truly believes in the power of technology — if implemented thoughtfully and as personally as possible .
This is the brand man and avid cyclist who took his executive teams for immersions into China and the UAE . He created one of the first “ green ” brands with Element , which is finally starting to ramp up after , perhaps , admitted bad timing on the rollout . He has always focused on giving all of his brands a distinct point of view and continues to look at the hotel world through his own unique lens .
HOTELS caught up with van Paasschen during the early June NYU hotel investment conference . Here are his thoughts on numerous questions of the day .
HOTELS : Are you worried how technology can impersonalize a hotel experience ?
Frits van Paasschen : You can ’ t undo 200,000 years of the evolution of homo sapiens and their desire to be a social species , as well as the importance of looking at someone across the room and hearing their voice and reading their body language .
On the other hand , in many respects
10 HOTELS July / August 2014 www . hotelsmag . com