Starwood Hotels Employer Reviews

Not my favorite thing to do. Wouldn't recommend it unless you really like working at a hotel.

This company was terrible to work for. I was stressed from the moment I started to the moment I got off work. Then due to all the stress from my work day it carried into my normal life. When hired I was told it would be for "reservations" was trained from home and worked from home which was probably the only thing I enjoyed about this job. Then once – more...  training was done I was given information about making "sales" and each month I had to make that %. Otherwise we would be written up, 3 times and your fired! Also you were written up for silly things like calling out twice in a month. Sadly I had gotten sick within the past few months and was in the hospital at one point for a kidney stone. Did they care? No, I had to take 3....yes 3 days out "in a row" and had to give them a doctors note stating that I had to take time off work so that I don't get written up. And to top that off they would take that out of my Holiday/Sick time, though I didn't want that. I requested (many times) for part time hours, which was denied each and every time. Funny though how this company has so many employees that they just couldn't change my hours because of "staffing needs". I had been there for a year and you would have thought they would be just a little flexible for me, but NOPE! As for the bonuses....well they were nice, when you DID get them. But towards the end of my employement there, I realized that they would make "excuses" at the end of each month saying that my numbers were off and that I wasn't booking reservations in the system correctly so I wouldn't get the bonus for that month. Even though no one (Team leads, Supervisors) told me of this when I was training/working. Or they were have (like clockwork) technical issues near the end of every month which would mess up everyone's sales. Once you got "comfortable" with the system and script you had to follow with each and every call, the company would change it up. Making you say/do more and learning the "new system features". You would have to "cheat" your way to the top in order to get those bonuses. My last bonus I was to receive was taken away from me because of more stupid reasons they tried to explain to me. For the amount I got paid, it was not worth the amount of stress that it was causing me. Please be careful when thinking of this as a long term career...their all smiles when you step your foot into the door, but that changes the second you get off training. – less

A typical day at Starwood would involve me sitting down and taking calls all day. Most days it wouldn't be that eventful but sometimes you would get the occasional caller who complimented you on your voice or your customer service skills (I got a lot of both of these) and then you would get the customer who is just calling to get something they are – more...  not entitled to. Then there are the angry customers who can't be calmed because they refuse to see reason and then there the random prank calls that don't happen too often but their still pretty funny.

I learned how to be empathetic and sympathetic to my callers' needs and concerns. At times it is very easy, as someone on the outside looking in, to lose sight of the parable, "pain is relative" and understand that sometimes, caring a little about the callers' concerns and needs as it pertains to them can go a long way to having a very great caller, representative experience.

Management was great, they were very hands-on and down to earth people who you didn't hesitate to call on when you had an issue, whether personal or work-related. They were not lazy, by no means. They were strict and maintained the office at very high standards.

My co-workers were great! Some of my co-workers I went to church with or I attended school with so most of us knew each other; it's a pretty small town.

The hardest part of the job was getting up in the morning, I had an early shift so things were slow. I had to take initiative and find things around the office to do until things began to pick up during the day.

The most enjoyable part was when things did pick up. I enjoy being busy and always moving. I''m not fond of idleness, especially at work. I'm here to work so I WANT to work. – less

I really enjoyed working here. They give all employees the perfect opportunity to advance in the company. They offer full benefits and over time. In addition to this it is very structured and the supervisors make sure that they take time to coach you so that your performance improves and you are able to service your callers efficiently.

Just got promoted to the E-communications department and it is great. Great benefits and my current and past supervisors are awesome. The best job I ever had.

Its a good company but is not challenging enough. The work day is busy during the day and slower at night. The co-workers are nice and team players the staff is very pleasant.

I enjoy working here. The people are very nice. You work outside a lot. The have a kid club there.

when I first started working for this company it was a cultural melting pot. People from all cultures, since they hired this new human resource person you can see a drastic change in whom they are hiring and firing.....They say racism is out dated but it so up in your face with this company. You are so lucking to see a person of color at all.

I inquired – more...  about taking a management training course and it was stated to me no such course exist. , but another employee ws able to take this course... WOW....

No matter what you do nothing is enough for this company..... – less

they have very strong core values and family values they also value the employee and make them part of the company as well.

I worked for this company for 1 month and I hated every minute of it I just quit one day because life is to short and why waste time going to a dead end job where they don't respect you and treat there employees like a machine. This company believe in work until you pass out. There's people that worked 19 hours straight with one 30 min lunch break. – more...  Some even work 75 hrs in 1 week only 30 min lunch break was given. Your schedule is a joke if you schedule a shift believe me you will stay an extra 4 to 5 hours on your feet non stop working. I was schedule 4pm to 3 am and I had to report to work 8am that morning yes people 5 hours later wow no sleep how can your body rest when you been up for 12 hours and have to do all over again in 5 hours? A average day at the Westin is clock in, report to your department and work until you drop to the floor. If you try to go to bathroom manager will go looking for you because taking breaks isn't allowed. Management isn't fair and the employee of the month is a joke. The people that wins this so call employee of the month is those in the office sitting on there behind.

I hope this review help someone not make the mistake of being sucked in because they painted a beautiful picture during interview but believe me once they got you the whole demeanor changes and now instead of you being a person you are now a machine. And don't dare complain this company seriously can use a UNION. – less

Productive, hard worker, dependable, responsibile, and team player. Learned what was in demand for the company to be profitable. Management were trying to hard to make what was expected from a good hard worker. Co-workers always felt it was never enough satifaction. Hardest part of the job was to make you daily and weekly quota. The most enjoyable part – more...  of the job was talking, and help guest to fulfill their dream vacation, and using their star points that they had earned. – less

I am in training right now for the eCommunications department and I am already looking for another position. This company is very large and it is so large that they no longer care about work/life balance. I think that the company is over-servicing customers and under servicing their employees.

I work at the Austin call center off Cameron as an in house agent. The first thing to realize is that you will start with the company with the latest shift (until 1:00 A.M) and work most weekends and until you get enough time in, most holidays. There are a lot of chances to change departments because the turnover is so high. Most people want a daytime – more...  shift so they can be with their families, etc. but the young people who love to stay up most of the night and sleep late into the morning will adapt easily.Your calls will be monitored and scored. You must follow the format or not receive a bonus. There are opportunities for over time and the management seems to care about people by providing the in house agents lots of fun things to do. I think the insurance and benefits are good.
As call centers go, I have heard it is one of the best. The hardest part of the job is remaining calm when callers are angry, maintaining an upbeat tone for hours on end and adjusting to unusual schedules. There are times called CTAs when even supervisors have to take calls because there are so many coming in and it is intense. If you are not adaptable, this is not for you. – less

I work in a highly fast paced environment. The Starwood Irish office comprises of 300 employees. The team I manage directly is made up of 20 members. I work closely with them. I am their main point of contact: I review their performance and provide them with the necessary tools to develop and advance. I also assist my team in the day-to-day management – more...  of their work whereby they need guidance in resolving customers' issues they have challenges with. I have learnt that all employees wish to feel special and need to be treated as such. In view of this, i have learnt that while company's goals ought to be achieved, the path to undertake in order to accomplish these has to be varied. Flexibility is key to me when managing people's performance and development. The Leadership team I am part of is made up of 10 members. I look after my peers' teams from time to time and am always keen to assist the whole floor (200 associates) as well as my colleagues in different departments in whatever capacity they need me to work in (scheduling, forecasting, training, helpdesk, etc). The hardest part of my job consists in the challenges that the high turnover brings with it. One of its consequences is the loss of talents and the starting from scratch of activities that need to be carried quite repetitively (i.e. training). I enjoy the most the interaction with team members, the part that preceeds the put in place of a development plan, the influencing, the inspiring. I also very much take pride and enjoy in working on six sigma projects with the aim to make things better, for the organisation as well as for the people. – less

good place to work if you like talking on the phone. they give bonuses for the great work that you do.

The Managment was ok but there was noticeable favouritism especially in the department that I worked in. I will say there was a few good employees that I enjoyed working with.

I worked at a Starwood property in Millbrae which closed for renovation. In the meantime, the Chief Engineers in the area have come together to find a way for me to pick up hours at their sites until my original hotel reopens this year. They have gone out of their way to keep me employed through Starwood, something that I have not seen in other companies. – more...  Also, transferring between hotels was as easy as filling out paperwork. Though I am sure they have their flaws, I am thankful to not have to experience many of them first-hand. – less

There really isn't enough I can say about the organization from culture to leadership. Hands down one of the best companies to work for.

I have been with the company for 3 years and love every minute of it. In this time I have been promoted twice and am under wonderful leaders who continue to teach me new skills every day.

people are rude at the W hotel, they preach about image when they themselves give a bad image. I was called for an interview was jerked around in the end never hired never applying there again, not making that mistake twice.