Starwood Destinations Highlights Hainan, China

Starwood Hotels & Resorts reports the launch of its first China destination concentration for its ProLearning module – Starwood Destinations. The new course is now available at www.starwoodpro.com and was developed to educate travel professionals about Hainan, China. Hainan is the country’s most southern province and home to seven existing Starwood properties and five more to open by 2014, Starwood says.

This includes The Royal Begonia, A Luxury Collection Resort, Sanya (June 2012), Four Points by Sheraton Hainan, Sanya (July 2012), The Westin Haikou (December 2012), Sheraton Sanya Tufu Bay (2013) and The Westin Sanya Haitang Bay (2014). Starwood says  it is the largest luxury and upper upscale international hotel operator in China and Hainan.

“China is such an important destination for Starwood and for anyone involved in the global travel community. With our development there, including three new resorts set to open in Hainan, we truly believe it is our responsibility to help travel professionals understand the variation and breadth of the China tourism experience,” said Chris Austin, vice president, global retail leisure & luxury sales at Starwood.

Throughout this 20 minute exploration of Hainan, travel professionals will learn about geography, activities, transportation and get an in-depth look at the variety of resort options Starwood provides in Hainan.

Existing ProLearning destination modules, all incorporating Starwood’s story selling examples and recommendations, have already been viewed by thousands of current StarwoodPros.

Each module can be explored one island at a time and travel professionals can return to their last completed section at any time.

Certificates and a virtual concierge are provided for each module. Additional destination selling modules will debut throughout the year, Starwod says.

More than 25,000 travel professionals have completed the first ProLearning module and are now qualified for STARPRO travel professional rates, bookable at www.starwoodpro.com and starting from just $69 a night. Travel professionals must be a StarwoodPro Module 1 graduate in order to gain access to the Starwood Destinations modules and other benefits.  

Visit www.starwoodhotels.com