Starwood and Six Sigma

Starwood Hotels is one the largest hotel companies in the world. At the end or 2010, their chain comprised 1,027 hotels with approximately 302,000 rooms in nearly 100 countries. The hotels were either owned or leased (62 properties), managed on a hotel management contract (463) or franchised hotels (502 properties). Over half their hotels are in North America and the Caribbean and one quarter in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Most of their brands are in the upper end of the market, and include St. Regis, W, Westin, Le Meridien, and Sheraton. This market position means that the chain has focused on quality and was an early adopter of six sigma amongst service firms in 2001. Between 2001 and 2006 the company reported that it had delivered $100 million of extra profit from its Six Sigma initiative and that this explained why its net margin was 15% higher than its two main rivals - Hilton and Marriott.

Managers and employees trained in Six Sigma work at all levels of the organisation – in hotels, area management, divisions and corporate head office. Green Belts have full-time job positions, but spend a proportion of their time working on Six Sigma projects. They will mostly be engaged in collecting and analysing data for projects and monitoring improvements. By 2010, over 50% of all Starwood’s managers had been trained to this level at least. At the next level up, Black Belts work only on Six Sigma projects. When Starwood first began the programme, it sent Black belts to every one of its hotels with the specific task of introducing the initiative to the workforce, training some employees to be Green belts, and identify improvement projects. By 2010, all hotels had a Six Sigma Council lead by a Black Belt. Master Black Belts are the next level up the Six Sigma Hierarchy. They are fully trained in all the principles and tools of Six Sigma, and have the specific role of ensuring consistent practices across Six Sigma projects. In Starwood, they