Starwood Reorg -- Sergio Promoted

[clsmit]

http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20120412005807/en

3 senior Starwood leaders are retiring. SVO will be integrated into the hotel organization. Sergio Rivera, head of SVO, has been promoted to co-lead the new Americas division with primary responsibility for SVO and North America.

What to expect as a result -- better integration between the hotels and nearby SVO properties, which was sort of in place at WMH and WKV. Expect to see that emphasis continue in Hawaii and Colorado, where there are nice hotel properties close to the SVO locations. "Better integration" includes discounts and incentives to use all the branded properties within the area and hopefully more efficiencies in the back of the hotel operations. It probably also means no SVO locations developed outside of the Americas.

And of course, an online reservation system. :hysterical:

 

[nodge]

http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20120412005807/en

3 senior Starwood leaders are retiring.

Hmmm. I probably wouldn’t use the term “retire” when referring to a 50-year-old man leaving a job that earns $3.5 million/year that he’s held for only 3.5 years, but it does look like Friz finally has everybody around him fully calibrated. Let’s just hope Friz is also smart enough to not play the “consultant” game with his new “retiree.”

Watch out SVO VP’s, Friz is watching you too.

-nodge

 

[jarta]

nodge, ... "I probably wouldn’t use the term “retire” when referring to a 50-year-old man leaving a job that earns $3.5 million/year that he’s held for only 3.5 years"

You intentionally didn't quote from your link or clsmit's link. Avril had been with Starwood for 22 years in various positions (started with Vistana in 1999) as he moved up the ladder. Before retiring as President of Starwood's Hotel Group this is what Avril did for the last almost 4 years:

"he oversees hotel operations worldwide for Starwood's nine hotel brands and approximately 1000 properties in more than 100 countries representing revenues of $16 billion."

So, for the last few years he was compensated $3.5M. It's no big deal(!) - given the responsibility he had during those years of economic turmoil.

And, of course, your cheap shot implies that Avril didn't want to just play some golf, had no savings socked away from the prior 16 years with Starwood that were spent in the mail room and was sacked by Frits. Are you just jealous or is there an agenda in your posts? Salty

 

[Westin5Star]

So, for the last few years he was compensated $3.5M. It's no big deal(!) - given the responsibility he had during those years of economic turmoil.

I disagree. This is a big deal! I think that he should have been making much more than only $3.5M per year. There is no way you could have gotten me to do that job for only $3.5M. I feel that at least $25-30M would have been a more fair and proper compensation for the responsibility, span of control, and required skill set.

 

[jarta]

5Star, ... Avril and the other 2 retirees have agreed to stay on until the end of the year to help out with the transition.

Aren't you glad Starwood is so frugal? lol! nodge would have us all believe the company is a bunch of spendthrifts and thieves and idiots. If so, how does Starwood have the largest share of the hotel market and a stock price that has gone from less than $10 per share to today over $55 per share since Avril became President of the Hotel Group toward the end of 2008.

BTW, Avril has over $10M in stock options at today's prices that he can collect on. Avril's doing quite OK - despite what nodge implies.

Why not declare yourself a winner, get out of the blast furnace and play a little golf at age 50? Salty

 

[nodge]

I disagree. This is a big deal! I think that he should have been making much more than only $3.5M per year.

Well, I don’t know how much I’d pay to have the guy in charge of a company that made all of these bad decisions on his watch run a much larger company, or how long I’d even keep him around after he rides the coattails of another former Vistana exec into that job before I took over the reigns . . . but $3.5 million/year for 3.5 years seems just about right to me.

And as long as we’re talking, I don’t know how much “experience” one should credit an executive for the years he spent away from the office to “pursue his lifelong goal of becoming one of the top amateur players in golf.” But, I’m pretty darned sure that those years don’t get counted at full strength, no matter how much of a “blast furnace” he was in at all those tricky tees and greens.

SVO has been the tail wagging the Starwood dog ever since Starwood bought Vistana (and renamed it SVO) in 1999. This fresh canning . . . er retirement . . . is the first sign that Starwood has finally woken up and smelled the coffee. And with the economy forcing SVO to transition its focus from primarily being a timeshare resort building and selling company to being a timeshare resort management, fee collecting and otherwise generally sustaining company (much more like Starwood's hotel business), it was about time.

Keep it going Friz! We all bought SVO timeshares thinking we were buying into your company and not that sleazy Vistana thing. We can be loyal again if you just keep cleaning up (er . . integrating with Starwood) SVO’s management and give us a little respect.

Oh yeah Friz, if you ARE handing out consulting gigs, I’d be happy to help out the team . . . you know . . for the greater good and all. My golf game is terrible and in desperate need of improvement.

-nodge

 

[Ken555]

This could be a great and positive change. I'm optimistic.

 

[gregb]

One other thing I noticed in the press release. Starwood is continuing to sell properties, when it feels the price is right, as they continue to move towards a hotel operating company, instead of a hotel owning company.

Greg

 

[clsmit]

Starwood as management v. owning company

The hotel side has been trying to be "asset-light" for a while by selling the hotels to the hotel management companies/REITs. One wonders how long they will continue to own timeshare units given this consolidation in their company. I don't know how many units they own of each resort, but it must be at least a few at each.

 

[gregb]

The hotel side has been trying to be "asset-light" for a while by selling the hotels to the hotel management companies/REITs. One wonders how long they will continue to own timeshare units given this consolidation in their company. I don't know how many units they own of each resort, but it must be at least a few at each.

It would be nice to know how many units they own at a resort. I wonder how one would go about getting that Information? It might shed some light on unit availability at peak weeks.

Greg

 

[clsmit]

You (not Greg, a generic you -- "one" sounds so formal) could use the online title filings in the counties where that info is free to count how many units have been sold and back into how many units have not been. That would be tedious and difficult. Any college students out there looking for a research project?

Then compare that info to Marriott's in the same area for a benchmark. I'm seeing a Master's Thesis in this project. Add some additional research and it's a Dissertation. I'm sure a professor at UCentralFla or UNLV would take on someone wanting to do it.

 

[glypnirsgirl]

I think that the whole "hotel-light" business plan is just the flavor of our times.

It is the whole "The World is Flat" phenomenon. No one needs to make anything, no one needs to build anything. All the money is in the management and selling.

I have seen it in other industries also --- even as a lawyer, I was advised to outsource the data input for my business. Doctors are advised to have their x-rays read by a doctor in India.

I hope that it is a pendulum swing and that it will swing back (maybe not so much in hotels and timeshares).

elaine

 

[gregb]

You (not Greg, a generic you -- "one" sounds so formal) could use the online title filings in the counties where that info is free to count how many units have been sold and back into how many units have not been. That would be tedious and difficult. Any college students out there looking for a research project?

Then compare that info to Marriott's in the same area for a benchmark. I'm seeing a Master's Thesis in this project. Add some additional research and it's a Dissertation. I'm sure a professor at UCentralFla or UNLV would take on someone wanting to do it.

Carol,

I think that both sides of WKOR have been "sold out" for several years. So what one would have to do is look up each week for each apartment to see who is the registered owner. From that you could calculate how many *Wood owns at that point in time. Of course it wouldn't take too long. Let's see, about 500 units for both side, times 52 weeks equals about 26000 deeds to examine. If it takes 2 minutes to find and view a deed, that works out to about 52,000 minutes or about 870 hours or 22 work weeks. (Remember, I am an Engineer, and we round numbers! ). Now who can we get to do that again?????

Greg

 

[clsmit]

Other than an infinite number of monkeys, a 4-5 person master's program group project? Then it's a much smaller amount of work per student. Anyone know a Prof at a school with a hotel management degree?

 

[DavidnRobin]

It would be nice to know how many units they own at a resort. I wonder how one would go about getting that Information? It might shed some light on unit availability at peak weeks.

Greg

Greg - are you asking how many VOIs are owned by SVO at WKORV or WKORVN? I believe they have given this up (as a percentage) - they would probably give this info up if asked. The CCRs may require them to disclose this this translated to voltes. May be quicker than scouring Title info.
At WSJ-VG - I recall them owning ~10% of the VOIs.