Starwood HQ moves to Dubai and Westin’s on a Tangent

Nope, it’s not April Fools Day, yet…but you read that right. Starwood has moved many of their corporate executives from Connecticut to Dubai for 1 month.  Starwood president & CEO Frits van Paasschen and the company’s top executives will conduct day-to-day business from Dubai until April 5.   This move follows a similarly successful month-long move to China in 2011. “With 80 per cent of Starwood’s pipeline coming from rapidly growing markets, it is simply not possible to lead a truly global business from a boardroom in Connecticut,” said van Paasschen.

During the course of the relocation, more than 200 Starwood executives and GMs from the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America will travel to Dubai as the company runs day-to-day operations almost 7,000 miles and a nine-hour time zone away from its HQ.  This is something I can appreciate because outside of my blogging life I work completely internationally with offices in Europe, Asia and Australia.  It’s challenging until you get the hang of it!

In other Starwood News, Westin Hotels has launched Tangent, a new workspace concept formerly called “The Bee Hive.”  Westin plans to roll the concept out to 40 hotels globally this year and it’s currently available for booking at The Westin Boston Waterfront and The Westin Arlington Gateway

Tangent Space at The Westin Boston Waterfront (photo source: Westin Boston Waterfront Website)

The space will feature media:scape, which will allow workers to share digital information, conduct video conferencing, access printers, televisions, Xbox 360s (not sure how that’s work related, unless you work for a gaming company), floor-to-ceiling whiteboards and complimentary access to wifi.  The space is suited for 4 people to work collaboratively.

The Westin Boston Waterfront and Westin Arlington Gateway both rent space for $50/hour and booking is done through third-party site called LiquidSpace.com.  Reservations may be cancelled without penalty with 24 hours notice.

This is an interesting concept similar to shared office solutions currently available. I suspect I’d be much more open to meeting people at a hotel workspace than at some random office space I’d never been to before – especially if the meeting was with people I didn’t know.

Tangent Concept (photo from: Starwood Hotels Website)