Does anyone remember Starwood Hotels issuing a press release saying something along the lines of “we’re looking to move out of our headquarters in White Plains“? I remember! But ever since then we haven’t heard a thing; today though, after 3 1/2 years of negotiation and scouting for sites, Starwood Hotels is moving 20 minutes away from White Plains, NY to Stamford, CT.

Starwood has leased 250,000 square feet at 333 Ludlow Street – in a development that seems to be still under construction – and will begin moving on January 2012. Apparently Starwood will do a major renovation to tune of $40 million but it’s unclear if the building has ever had a tenant before (reports are conflicting). It’s located in Stamfords up-and-coming Harbor Point section which used to be an industrial site.
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From what the press releases state – the building will be a brand showcase for Starwood and will be a LEED Certified building. We can only speculate as to what a brand showcase means – but I can picture demo rooms of each of their brands, as well as the office space for each hotel brand of Starwood being decorated similar to how the actual brand is decorated. Keep in mind – the Luxury Brand group which encompasses LeMeridian, St Regis, W Hotels & The Luxury Collection are still located in New York City and will be unaffected by this move. The Luxury Brand Group itself is just moving into a new building now too.

It’s really interesting to note the differences between Starwood’s move and Hilton’s move (remember, Hilton moved from Beverly Hills, CA to Tysons Corner, VA over the summer). Hilton announced in January, 2009 they were scouting for locations in the Virginia/Maryland/Washington DC area. Two months later, in March it announces it’s found a location – about 100,000 sq ft in the Park Place II development at Tysons Corner, move in date? August 2009. Investment? $17 million. LEED (or anything having to do with Green) being part of the building? None.

I was pretty shocked myself when I found out that Hilton was able to find a site so fast, then do a renovation and move in 6 months away, Starwood’s time frame is ALOT longer, but it sounds as though they are going to be building a very unique and one of a kind headquarters. There is something to be said for the amount of employees each headquarters will hold: Hilton: around 300, Starwood’s: 800, but it’s still interesting to see the differences between how the two companies are managing or have managed their headquarters moves.

It’s also interesting how Hilton didnt seem to give their employees much notice for a move on the complete other part of the country, whereas Starwood’s new headquarters is 20 minutes North East of White Plains, and is an even easier to get to if the employees takes public transportation.

I guess you could say I’m reading into it too much (time difference between Hiltons & Starwood’s move) but I think it just goes to show that Starwood is all about the brand experience – they are taking the time to build an environment that the employees will embrace and be able to feel part of the company, rather than just simple cubicles and nice paintings on the wall..

andrew@alconic-inc.com