A clean, spacious room, powerful air conditioning, comfortable doggie bed, ID tag, doggie treats...what else could a dog want on vacation? Dogs are getting just that and more at Sheraton, Westin and W properties throughout the US and Canada thanks to the Starwood LTD (Love that Dog) program. Westin VP Sue Brush joins us to talk about it in this streaming audio interview. Woof!

Click below link to read the related press release:
Starwood Hotels Goes to the Dogs - Sheraton, Westin and W to Allow Dogs Brand Wide - Hotels Pamper Pooches with New Dog Beds and Amenities

Sue Brush is Senior Vice President, Westin for the North America Division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Hot. As the Westin Brand operations leader, she is responsible for the overall performance and integrity of the Westin Brand. Specific roles include serving as the Brand spokesperson, defining/measuring Westin Brand Standards like the Heavenly Bed ® and new innovations, implementing Westin Brand programs in rooms and food and beverage, maintaining communications with hotels, owners and Starwood associates, and providing input on strategy, marketing and growth.

Brush has ten years hotel experience and over ten years at the corporate level. She began her career with Westin as Manager of Public Relations/Advertising for the Olympic Hotel (a Westin property) in Seattle and then spent five years at The Westin Seattle as Director of Advertising/Public Relations. She left the company after her son was born in 1982 and returned four years later to Westin's Corporate Headquarters as Director of Corporate Communications. She was promoted to Vice President of Communications in 1991; served as Vice President of Advertising/Public Relations in 1995; Vice President/Westin Brand Manager following the merger with Starwood in 1998; Vice President, Brand Operations in 2001; and received a promotion to her current position in 2002.

She is both accredited (APR) and a member of the elite College of Fellows for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). Formerly president of the Puget Sound Chapter, she was recognized as its "PR Professional of the Year" and served as Host Committee Chair of its 1995 national conference in Seattle. She was named Westin's "Most Empowering Officer" in 1996. Travel Agent Magazine selected her as one the "100 Most Powerful Women in Travel" in 1996 and as one of the "200 Most Powerful Women in Travel" from 1997 - 2000.

Under her direction, Westin's 1997 "Who's She Sleeping With?" advertising campaign and its 1999 Heavenly Bed PR launch campaign were recognized as "Best of Show" by Hotel Sales Management Association International (HSMAI).

She earned her MBA Degree from the University of Puget Sound (Tacoma, WA) and a Bachelor of Science Degree in education from Bowling Green State University (Ohio) where she graduated with honors as the Outstanding Senior Woman and the Outstanding Greek (Sorority) Woman. An active alumnus, she served as chairman of the Pacific Northwest Chapter for ten years and as a member of the BGSU Alumni Board of Trustees. Her achievements are listed in Who's Who in the Lodging Industry and Outstanding Young Women in the West.

A native of Ohio, Brush lived in Seattle for 27 years before relocating to Starwood's corporate headquarters in White Plains, NY in August 1999. She and her husband Ken have a son, Kevin.

Westin Hotels & Resorts, with 117 hotels and resorts in 28 countries, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and was voted the number one upper-upscale hotel brand for three years in Business Travel News' "Annual U.S. Hotel Chain Survey." Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 750 properties in more than 80 countries and 105,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwood.com.

Kevin Heilbronner is the US Editor for wiredhotelier.com and hospitalitynet.org, providing streaming multimedia-content for these websites. Based outside of Washington DC, Heilbronner has worked with Hsyndicate to conduct interviews at several hospitality trade shows in the US and Europe over the last couple of years. His column and content are featured in the Hospitality Net weekly newsletter. A familiar voice in Washington, DC, Heilbronner is the stadium announcer for the NBA's Washington Wizards, WNBA's Washington Mystics and WUSA's Washington Freedom. He resides in Centreville, VA and can be reached via email: [email protected].

Mark Ricci
914/640-8496
Starwood

Related