Plugged In

A LOT OF WHAT YOU LOVE
OUR IMPRINT ON 2014
The best is yet to come.
By Caroline Cooney Hurrell
WE CARE ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY
Take a look at what you’ve done
recently to help our community.
By Tara Moloney
CELEBRITY STATUS
Check out who crossed paths with some of
Hollywood's finest in 2014.
By Mark Mangan
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
BEAT THE BLUES
Some top tips to help you get
over those financial blues!
By Mark Mangan
Our Photo Competition
returns! Check inside
for details.
THE
BEST
TO
COME
What a year.
by Caroline Cooney-Hurrell
VP Cork CCC Operations
We have hit 2015 running fast, building on the successes of 2014 and
looking forward to a fun year when we become experts at all the new
things we pioneered over the past 12 months. Think of all we got done last
year. On October 15th we launched SPGPro and on that same day we
brought SPG Preferences to all 1,200 of our hotels. Each one of you played
a big part in supporting these initiatives – THANK YOU.
We changed the industry with our launch of Keyless Entry, which by the way
got us to the biggest Tech stage in the world at the Apple Watch launch in
September! 2015 will see our Keyless product rollout across our hotels. We
signed 175 hotel deals, our second best year ever in terms of expanding the
Starwood portfolio, and we opened more than 70 hotels in 2014. Look out
for some lovely hotels in some amazing locations coming online in the very
near future.
Our focus this year will be to ensure that each one of you has the right tools
and information to be able to personalize each one of your interactions
with our guests and customers. Last year we rolled out 365 email and Lync
to everyone, for the first time ever all associates could communicate across
the same platform. We also expanded the rollout of Starguest so that you
have the information to reliably help our guests. As most of you probably
already know, we are piloting a new version of our desktop and expect to
move towards releasing this to everyone over the next few months. Very
exciting!
So as I look back on 2014, it was a year of dreaming the impossible and
making it real. You might remember we talked a lot about “done is better
than perfect”, focusing on innovation in how we connect and sell to our
guests. Building on the success this mindset gave us, in 2015 you will hear a
lot about flawless delivery. We will use what we learnt over the past 12
months to ensure that we can reliably personalize our interactions with our
guests.
Once again many thanks for your great contribution in 2014 and enjoy this
issue of our magazine which charts the story of us
Corina Herlihy
Meet the Staff / Features
Tara Moloney
Mark Mangan
Editor
Graphics/Design
Hi all – welcome to our 10th Edition of “Plugged In”, a look back at all the interesting events that
have taken place in our office and for our Associates both here and abroad over the last 6
months. Along with all the usual favourites, this edition has an extra dash of pizazz in the form of
close encounters of the celebrity kind with our Cork Associates….
by Tara Moloney
And, if a little more escapism is what is needed on these grey February days, we also have
some inspiring articles from the sunny shores of Costa Navarino & Costa Smeralda to share with
you.. Check inside also for details of our latest photo competition – we are looking forward to
even more great entries this year so get your creative hat on and send us your
entry – winning entry to feature in our next edition.
On another note, if this is the year where you were finally planning to get fit or get your
finances in order, then maybe our piece on the Bike to Work Scheme and “Making
Every Euro Count” will be just the ticket for you.
NOTE
That, and lots more, we hope you enjoy what we have compiled for you – thanks as
always to the graphics team and also to Andrea Lange who has been an
invaluable help to us with her eagle-eyed proof-reading!
Here’s to a happy and successful 2015 for us all.
Best regards, Tara
From The
EDITOR
EYE OF THE
BEHOLDER
OUR PHOTO COMPETION IS BACK
We had some outstanding photo entries and
winners from some very talented photographers
in our last edition and feedback from
our readers was great.
We’d love to see more of what you
photographers can do, so we’re bringing
back the competition with a chance
to win €100 for the winning entry.
This time we’re widening the field and
asking you to submit a photo
you’ve taken of your favourite sight,
from anywhere in Ireland.
Terms and Conditions:
Deadline for submissions 31st May 2015.
Selected images may be used for internal
communications in the future.
Most digital formats are accepted.
Entries to be submitted to
[email protected]
Judging panel will decide on winning photo.
Winning entry to be announced in next
edition of “Plugged In”.
THE
JOURNEY
Journey Refresh- September 2014
By Irene Santos
The Cork CCC was happy to be chosen as the CCC location to record a number
of videos with our associates, to showcase the talent and the variety of roles
housed here.
The event led to a visit by a number of colleagues from the Stamford office, who
brought with them a professional journalist as well as an American and an Irish
filming crew- for those who are fans of the Vikings, the series filmed in Co Wicklow,
they normally film that show!
Over the period of 2 days, many associates from the centre were interviewed for
the videos and we also conducted focus groups with associates to gauge their
understanding of GPS, their feedback on their work experience with Starwood,
etc.
The videos were shown at the L100 meeting in Florence, in the Autumn, attended
by the top 100 leaders in Starwood and feedback has been great!
LEGGING IT
Cork Examiner Photo
Competition 2015
Big shout out to Lydia
Madigan whose eye
catching photo “Legging
it” (left) was published in
the Irish Examiner on
Saturday 10th January.
Lydia’s photo will be
drawn from a number of
other entrants at the end
of 2015 for the overall
Cork Examiner Grand
Prize. Good luck Lydia!
Hairspray- 20th years in Cork celebration
By Irene Santos
The Cork CCC celebrated 20 years of business in Cork during the summer of 2014.
Having started with only a handful of employees it is an impressive feat to now be one of the largest
employers in Cork city centre, with nearly 500 associates and providing service in 11 different languages.
The fact that we have around 50 nationalities happily working together in our site is also something we are
always proud to mention!
After so many years in business we wanted to do something different to celebrate the occasion and we
decided to take advantage of the great cultural events that take place in our city, by joining forces with Cork
Opera House and booking out the entire dress circle to host an evening of light refreshments and a show
that has gathered great fame and reviews, Hairspray.
The night proved to be most enjoyable, even for those who were sceptical about attending a musical!
UP CLOSE
DANIEL
RODRIGUEZ
Hotel Coordinator, SPG Global
Property Support
What is the most unusual job you’ve ever had?
“BIG RED” – Western Kentucky University Mascot
EAST CORK
By Nadia O’Neill
Ballymaloe House, East Cork
The Special Programs Customer Care team day out
took place in picturesque East Cork. We were really
lucky to enjoy some great weather… with a few
showers along the way!
We started off the morning with a tasty breakfast in
the very pretty Bluebell café in Castlemartyr and then
set off to Bridge Field Buggies for some Quad
Biking.For many of the team it was their first time to get
on a Quad bike and there were a few nervous
moments, but we quickly got the hang of it and were
speeding over hills, through streams and navigating
obstacle courses in no time with Ivano and Ali showing
us how it’s done!
Western Kentucky University Mascot
If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation,
where would you go and why?
USA – it’s home sweet home!
Do you cook? If so, what is your favourite thing to
cook? I cook a yummy- proven Lasagne!
What is your favourite T.V. show?
“I love Lucy” is my old time favourite, but “Breaking
Bad” broke the mould.
Lucille Ball
If given the chance, who would you like to be for a
day? Why? The Pope –To ask God why?
Having worked up an appetite, we visited Ballymaloe
House for a well-earned lunch. On our way to the
restaurant we were fortunate to meet a famous
Hollywood and Irish actor - Gabriel Byrne!!! (Photo on
next page).Movies Include: The Usual Suspects, The
Man in the Iron Mask, End of Days. Some of us were
pretty star-struck! He was very happy to pose for a
photo and have a quick chat. We were delighted to
hear that one of his favourite hotels is the St. Regis
New York! We finished off our day with a visit to the
Stephen Pearce Pottery shop in Shanagarry and see
the amazing pottery and glass work that is made
there.
Who are the Special Programs Customer Care Team
(SPCC)?
The Special Programs Customer Care team were set
up as a pilot team in December 2013 primarily
responsible for handling calls from our Board of
Directors. The team has grown over the past year
specialising in processing Your24 requests, setting up a
B2B Luxury Desk supporting Travel Agents booking the
Luxury Privileges rate, coordinating Ambassador SPG
and Moments Events, handling Sales Support(B2B)
calls as well as providing back up for the Lead
Prospecting team. We are a small but very busy team
working on diverse and interesting tasks and see 2015
as a year of further growth for SPCC!
Our current team members are:
Ingrida Godfrey, Niamh Kennedy, Helene Gaston,
Lucy Violin and Viktorija Miropolska. Supervisor: Nadia
O’Neill. We also have support from our back-up team
members, Yvonne Kelly and Mahmoud Mohamed
Abd el Fatah
STAR
STRUCK
Spot the celebrities. Below, the SPCC team bumped
into the famous Irish movie star Gabriel Byrne on
their team day out at Ballymaloe. On the right, Julie
Ann Roche had a close encounter with Russell
Brand at his new book signing in London.
SOMETHING
TO SHOUT
ABOUT
Recruitment Update
By Lorna O’Mahony
2014 was another busy year for
recruitment. After receiving
2000 CV’s, completing 440 phone
assessments and 267 interviews,
we hired 134 new associates.
Associates were hired in a variety of
languages and we also started hiring
for Turkish language. During the year
we also attended job fairs in Cork and
Berlin.
We increased our referral to
€1000 bonus bonds from
September to December and we are
happy to announce that we will keep
this increased referral for January and
February 2015. We paid out
€23,600 in bonus bonds in 2014.
We will continue to hire in 2015 so
please drop or email CV’s to HR.
Here’s hoping for a successful 2015!
ACTUALLY
It must be love! Congratulations to Marta Horyza who got married to Maciej
Maciejczyk on 21st June 2014 in Ostrów Wielkopolski , Poland. The beautiful
couple spent their honeymoon in France.
A TASTE OF ST. REGIS
By Janusz Wierzchowski
On October 7th & 8th 2014, Camilla Johansson and Estella Daza-Leong, from the St. Regis brand visited us
here in Cork. Mrs. Camilla Johansson had previously visited our centre in April 2013 and we all were very
excited about her return to our CCC. Her love of the St. Regis brand and great presentation skills allowed us
to enter the exclusive world of the most desired brand in our company.
For two days our agents were generously spoiled in classic St Regis style, with signature “Virgin Bloody Mary”
tasters, delicious snacks and gifts. Our visitors enlightened us about the St Regis brand and shared insights
about their pinnacle of personal service, their one of a kind Butler service.
Check out Keith’s article and insight into some of the great artworks housed at some of our hotels.
St. Regis New York
The Bloody Mary
A WORK OF ART
By Keith Seybert
Maxfield Parrish and Starwood Hotels and Resorts: A
connection that crosses a continent and an ocean.
Who was Maxfield Parrish and what has he to do with
Starwood?
Maxfield Parrish was an acclaimed painter,
draftsman, and expert illustrator who came to
prominence during the time period known as the
American Renaissance (the mid 1870s to the late
1910s). And two of his most famous works were
painted at this time; Old King Cole and The Pied Piper
of Hamlin, both hang in Starwood Properties. Maxfield
Parrish was born July 25, 1870, in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Son of Stephan and Elizabeth Bancroft,
Parrish was raised in a wealthy and culturally elite
Quaker society. His father was a moderately
successful artist who recognized and nurtured his
son’s talent early on. An early Art professor stated “In
Mr. Parrish the academy has today among its
students one of the most brilliant and most suggestive
decorative painters in the country. ” Michael Scott
Joseph’s biography on Parrish says, “Maxfield came
to regard his father as his most influential teacher.”
Old King Cole painting at St. Regis New York.
He was influenced by American culture, but his
privileged upbringing took him to Europe as a
seven year old. European art and culture had an
impact on his artistic style as well as the “oldentime” themes, which dominated his subject matter.
Sylvia Yount explains in her book on Maxfield
Parrish, “the boom in illustrated mass-market
periodicals and newspapers, in turn, generated a
growing respect for the skills of the artist-illustrator.”
This is why other magazines such as Scribner’s
Magazine, Century Life, and St. Nickolas regularly
employed Parrish during this period. In addition,
Parrish illustrated his first children’s book in 1897;
Mother Goose in Prose, for L. Frank Baum the
renowned feminist author of the wildly popular Oz
Books. This wide circulation cemented his fame
right across the continental US.
As Parrish’s career progressed, his fame and
popularity led to larger commissions beyond
children books and magazine illustrations,
exemplified by Old King Cole and The Pied Piper of
Hamlin. Both of these large murals were
commissioned for hotels, (now Starwood hotels)
and were works that Parrish produced during this
period at the height of his artistic powers.
Parrish continued to paint elaborate Fairy-tale
inspired landscapes until arthritis prevented him
from painting after 1962. Maxfield died in his
beloved home, The Oaks, in March 1966 leaving
the world a legacy of lively, lyrical, thoroughly
enjoyable visions, two of which are treasured by
Starwood patrons and guests.
The Pied Piper at The Palace Hotel, San Francisco
STARWOOD
SOCIAL
CLUB
MORE THAN JUST A NIGHT OUT
Catching up with our Social Club Activities
By Helena Gavin
The Tournament:
5th of July 2014, the perfect sunny day for… The
battle of the centres…
10 teams from 6 different companies, met and
fought for the title of champion in both Volleyball
and Soccer.
Oh oh oh…. Merry Christmas!!!
That’s right…. The Starwood Social Club could not
miss the opportunity to celebrate the end of 2014
with a fantastic Christmas party.
We started around 10am that day and our players
did not stop until 5pm. At the end, I couldn’t believe
they were still standing.
Our brave Starwood soldiers, Joao Guerra, Paulo
Laredo, Yago Fernandez, Tiago Carvalho, Marc
Catala, Amedeo Planetta and David Galindo
competed well and brought home 2nd place!
What about Volleyball you ask? The Astros, Adrian
Martinez, Giorgia Brandi, Ana Lopes, Jorn Ten Caat,
Federico Argul, smashed every ball and got the
title!
The Bailey Cork, was filled with Starwood people
and spirit on December 6th 2014. Lots of fun had on
the night and I am guessing there were many sore
heads the morning after….
But what does Santa do best? You got it… he
brings presents… and so did we… Once again
congratulations to the winner of our Christmas
Raffle!
THE HIGH
SEAS
By Mark Mangan
The Group Sales and Russian Team setting sail on Anna Emily
We took to the high seas on the beautiful Anna
Emily Sailing boat for our Group Sales and
Russian Team day out in the Summer of 2014.
What a day! We were so fortunate to have
magnificent weather. We boarded at the
Marina and enjoyed the most relaxing sail down
the coast line to Cobh. Our Captain was as
good a historian as he was a host. We enjoyed
some drinks, beautifully prepared food and
soaked up the sun as well as the scenery.
Our Captain gave us the chance to navigate
and steer the Anna Emily and fortunately under
his watchful eye, we didn’t end up sailing across
the Atlantic!! We also tried our hand at line
fishing and pulled aboard some beautiful
Mackerel fish which we barbequed on board.
After a wonderful day sailing we took the train
back from Cobh and settled into the Clarion
Hotel for a tasty Summer BBQ. Great day, great
people, and great experience.
(RIGHT: GMO Team enjoying time on the same
sail boat Anna Emily for their team day out.)
POWER
TRIP
UP CLOSE
By Teresa RamirezSchwartz
LINA PANUMYTE
Sales Specialist,
Group Sales and Events
For our team day-out this year we travelled to Power
Boat & Water Ski in Dripsey, County Cork in the
beautiful and scenic surroundings of the river Lee
valley.
We set out from Starwood at 10.30am on September
6, an overcast Saturday morning. Although it was
cloudy, the weather was mild throughout the day
and the water was comfortable temperature. The
coach journey, which took about 30mins, was
pleasant. Everybody on board was in good spirits
and the atmosphere was happy and relaxed. As
soon as we arrived, we put on our water-sports gear
and we were all ready for action. First up was the
water-skiing, which all the girls were brave enough to
take part in, but unfortunately we can’t say the
same for all the boys!
If you could choose any Super Power what would
it be? It I am not sure if I would like to have a super
power. I guess I would prefer time traveling. Is that
how it’s called? I’d like this super power, so I could
visit many beautiful countries. I guess the “time”
part would let me go back to the past too. Who
knows me well – they know my passion for visiting
castles, palaces, historic houses, etc.
You have just won the Euro Millions, what is the first
thing you would do? The first thing I would do – I
would hire a good financial advisor.
What animal most describes your personality and
Why? I am truly not sure, maybe a dog? I am
friendly, curious, fast learning and loyal. I do
“woof” around, but I never “bite”. It’s hard to
make me upset. I forgive very easy. I like outside
activities. I guess I could be kind of a happy family
dog.
Over a course of a couple of hours, we all enjoyed
various water activities, such as kayaking and donut
riding, the latter which proved particularly popular.
By the time the watersports had finished, everybody
had worked up a good appetite and we were all
ready for the barbecue. A fine selection of food was
provided with tea and coffee. Afterwards, on
arriving back in Cork, some of the group went for a
drink to the Sextant, to round off the day. The whole
day certainly was successful when it came to teambonding. The atmosphere was very positive all
throughout the day, starting with the coach journey,
and continued until we all said goodbye in the
evening.
What do you enjoy doing during your time off?
I do enjoy meeting friends, traveling, hiking,
camping with my fiancé Ian. I’ve seen some really
amazing parts of Ireland during our travel, like The
Skellig Michael Islands. I like spending time with my
loved ones.
Skellig Michael
What have we done for you lately?
Let’s see. We’ve turned our Outdoor Amenity
Area into a mini herb garden and added ecofriendly benches made of 100% recycled
material which we know you’ve been enjoying.
Big Green thumbs up to all of the
Cork Goes Green Team for all of these efforts.
Thanks for making things better.
UP CLOSE
IRIS
GROENEN
Sales and Service Team Lead
A film director wants to make a movie of your life –
who would you like to play you in the movie & why?
Jennifer Lawrence. She makes something amazing
out of everything she does, so I’m sure she wouldn’t
make my life look too bad.
If you could choose any ice-cream flavour, which
would you choose and why? Passion fruit and
mango, because it’s my favourite combination.
Where would you like to stay on StarHOT? Why?
The Maria Christina hotel in San Sebastian. I’ve
heard it’s a beautiful city, and I really like this hotel.
SPOT
LIGHT
Congratulations to Hazel O’Sullivan, Lorna
O’Mahony, Paulina Stadnik, Alina Wasilewska,
Erik Pomp, Monica Balana, Pawel Gorski,
Natalia Krzeminska, Amedeo Planetta & Louise
Casey who all completed a 3 Day Training
Course in Occupational First Aid in May. This
was a FETAC Level 5 Training Course and
certificates were finalised in the Autumn. Each
trainee passed with distinction – this is a great
achievement, well done all! Don’t forget to
call extension # 1111 if you ever need First Aid
Assistance at work. Attached some photos of
some of the proud trainees with their certs.
San Sebastian, Spain
What is your most favourite thing to do in Cork?
Why? I love the many tiny pubs and restaurants that
are scattered all over the city, so my favourite thing
to do is definitely to eat out and have a few drinks
with good friends.
What's the craziest thing you've ever done in your
life? Sitting on the back of a motorbike for 200 km
with no helmet on and a 16kg backpack on my
back. This was in Laos where the roads are really,
really bad. It was very ill-advised, as well as
extremely painful, so I’m happy I got out of that
one without any accidents.
Well
done
also
to
Corina
Herlihy,
Communications & Training Coordinator, who
successfully completed a Certificate in HR
Management with HRD online in November,
with a score of 100%. Well done Corina!
Congratulations to Ultan Coyle, Training
Content Specialist, who completed a Higher
Diploma in Learning, Development and Work
Based Training in 2014.
In 1999 we rocked the loyalty dance floor when SPG burst onto the
scene. Free nights without blackout dates or restrictions. An industry first.
On the week of 11th August we celebrated SPG’s 15th Anniversary with a
special celebration on Friday, 22nd August. We brought in a photo booth
to capture some new memories and had some great prizes.
Check out some snapshots below.
WE MAKE
THINGS
BETTER
By Denise Mcnamara
Expect to see much more of Operational Innovation
in 2015! But first, let’s look at some highlights from the
second half of 2014.
Adrian & Laila’s group of trained Yellow Belts below
received certs that marked the completion of their
training projects:
Aisling Kelly, Augusto Martins, Zuzana Kummerova,
Miren Elustondo, Louise Casey, Ahmed Fawal, Junio
Alves, Magali Scalise-Bravi, Giorgia Brandi, Jason
Harrington, Aidan Murphy, Anna Sudol, Brid
Hanrahan, Luigi Morrone & Giusy Perotta. (Photo
below).
In August the Sales & Service Department was the
first in the CCC to host an LOR (Lean Operational
Review). An LOR is an in-depth review of a
department with a view to eliminating any processes
where waste was identified. Waste for this purpose is
defined as any activity that does not add value to
the process from a customer standpoint. The focus of
this review was Supervisor admin duties. We were
really fortunate to have help from Catherine
McCullagh who looks after OI for Western Europe &
Laila Boumargoud, OI Black Belt in the Paris
properties. Nadia Kelleher, Supervisor SPCC & Yellow
Belt here in the centre was also on the review team.
Key outcomes from the review were the acquisition of
laptops to enable Supervisors become more mobile,
a new workshop process with specific metrics,
rationalisation of e-mails, a new process for booking
meeting rooms directly as opposed to via reception,
elimination of comments from monthly evaluation
sheets, electronic acknowledgement of monthly
evaluations, improved access to appropriate calls in
Witness, streamlining of STEAM (enabling easier
access to relevant data for supervisors).
The implementation plan was completed within the
desired 90 day timeframe. We will review
effectiveness and there may well be opportunity for
other departments to adopt some of the solutions.
We are looking forward to conducting at least
another LOR this year.
Q4 saw recruitment for Yellow Belts to work within
the specific OI remit. The successful candidates were
Nadia Kelleher, Helena Gavin, Janusz Wierzchowski,
Junio Alves & Maury Finol. In early 2015, OI yellow
belt training will be delivered locally by Denise &
Kerry O Boyle, OI Blackbelt for Brussels & Scandinavia
properties. Once training is completed the YBs will
commence their activities.
Awareness week was held at the start of Dec, and it
was really great to see the new YB’s supporting this.
One of the activities was the ‘cloud’; we received
lots of cool ideas and we will be choosing the
‘winner’ in our OI council in early 2015. Once the
Council has been held, we will create the pipeline
for 2015, and align OI resources to activities.
Along with the new YBs, Gemma McConigly & Mark
Mangan will also work with OI in a Green Belt
capacity.
Here’s to an activity-packed 2015!
On Thursday 20th November we celebrated the launch of our new partnership with SPG and Emirates
with Your World Rewards. We created our OASIS business lounge experience as well as providing a special
cabin crew service throughout the office offering snacks, beverages and great prizes. Great celebration
of an even greater partnership.
WE CARE
ABOUT OUR
COMMUNITY
Starwood Cares for the Community,
By Irene Santos
Our first year of running Starwood Cares as a
volunteering initiative in the Cork CCC was a great
success.
A great number of activities were organised
throughout the year, with associates participating in
two Blood Donation clinics, the refurb of a Scouts
hall in Cork , Road to Awareness cycle challenge in
Ireland, Surf to Heal, etc.
The last group event of the year saw a group of 13
associates from across several departments in Cork
participate in an Apple Picking event in support of Sli
Eile, a North Cork support group, whose mission is:
“ [to offer] a place where people experiencing
mental health difficulties can find safety,
acceptance and support to recover ”
www.slieile.ie/
Then we set off to work, under the expert
supervision of the volunteers that help manage the
project and with the assistance of the residents of
Sli Eile. We were divided into three teams, and
rotated amongst the different tasks, so that we all
got variety and an opportunity to learn . The group
proved to be keen learners and quickly were
operating fast and in a most productive manner.
Starwood also sponsored the apple crusher
needed to juice the fruit, a present that we left
with them and that will help them in their local
efforts to raise funds.
During our lunch break , we were treated to some
lovely music played on the old piano by one of the
residents of the house and they proudly brought us
The group resides in a beautiful period house and
farm in the village of Churchtown, outside Buttevant on a tour of this historical property. We left
in North Cork, called Burton Park, and as part of the promising to go back and with our hearts warmed
land they have an amazing old orchard where lots knowing we had made a difference not only
of apples needed picking. Our task was to pick, sort because of the work done, but because of the
and wash the fruit, so that it could be used to crush company and interaction.
into lovely juice to be sold at markets, etc.
We were welcomed on arrival with warm tea and
scones, which are made by the residents of the
house, as they also run a rustic bakery, selling their
goods locally to raise much needed funds for the
house.
THANK YOU
Community Outreach,
By Tara Moloney
It’s been another superb year for our Community
Outreach efforts . Cork Associates clocked up
268.5 hours of Volunteer time through our new
Starwood Cares Programme and our final
fundraising tally was €6,345.50. That brings our
total fundraising to over €86K since we launched
officially in mid-2009. Our end of year fundraising
event - our “Green Bazaar” - was a combined
effort between the Cork Goes Green and the
Community Outreach teams, thus making this an
event with a true “Global Citizenship” flavour. It
was a day when, yet again, we were astounded
by the talent of our crafts people and bakers, the
selfless commitment and passion of the Green &
Community Outreach Team members and of
course, the generosity and goodwill of all who
showed their support on the day – thank you
all. We may be changing things a little in terms of
how we organise our Community Outreach efforts
for 2015 given the arrival of our fantastic new
Starwood Cares programme – watch out for
updates as things unfold. Meanwhile, thank you
again for helping to make a difference. Here are
some nice photos of our December “Green
Bazaar” to take you back – we particularly like
the photo of Alicja blowing us all a little “thank
you” kiss for a job well done! (pictured right).
ROAD TO
LET’S HEAR IT
AWARENESS FOR THE
GIRLS
By Bike from Dublin to Co. Wicklow
By Silvia Kruse
Cork City Women's Mini Marathon
By Helena Mulcahy
It was a fresh Wednesday morning on 20th August. About
15 Dublin hoteliers and myself where gathering in the
ballroom of The Westin Dublin.
At around 10am – after some healthy and strengthening
snacks and smoothies – we left for our 90km ‘Road To
Awareness’ charity cycle from Dublin all the way down
to county Wicklow, around the Liffey lake and back to
Dublin. The weather was a bit chilly and clouds were in
the sky but for cycling it was perfect. We would be warm
soon enough. We started with two cars and 10 cyclists
(nine from the Westin and myself) but after we were half
way done one of the Westin concierges jumped into
one of the cozy cars and relaxed while watching the rest
of us.
We had lunch admiring the beautiful landscape of the
Wicklow Mountains (picture) and after surrounding the
lake made our way back to Ireland’s capital where we
finally arrived six hours after our departure.
At The Westin Dublin we were welcomed with applause
from the most important persons of the hotel and after a
refreshing shower we met in the Mint Bar where the
cooks spoiled us with really nice finger food.
Altogether it was a great experience with a lot of fun
and many nice people. And, of course, it was for a good
cause.
After many years of living in Cork I decided it was time to
give something back to the community so I decided to
participate in the Cork City Women’s Mini Marathon in
September. I did this in support of CLA (Children’s
Leukaemia Association).
My colleague and friend Alison Dunne-Secca kindly
agreed to support me and to participate in the
marathon along with me. Long hours went into training
and fundraising for the event. Together we raised €201,
which was fantastic. A big thank you to those that
supported and sponsored us!
We ran/jogged/walked a distance of 5 km. It was fun
and thoroughly enjoyable, and the weather could not
have been better. The atmosphere was great and the
event itself was well organised. It was nice to be
surrounded by other people who also wanted to do
good for their community. Although the marathon is
supposed to be only for female participants, men also
participated and proved to be very creative in their wigs,
dresses and make-up! I will definitely participate again
next year.
By Birgit Jobst
What can I say? It's been my 3rd season supporting
that wonderful non-profit organization. What is
Surf2Heal? Basically over the period of 2 weeks a
bunch of volunteers (Thank you to all of you crazy,
cheerful, fun and caring peeps for dedicating your
time for this fantastic cause and making it so much
fun) go surfing with autistic kids at Garrettstown
Beach. Being part of Surf2Heal through Starwood
Cares for the Community is truly one of the most
rewarding experience you can get. Seeing that
big smile on the kids faces, being hugged or just
noticing what impact the water, the surfboard and
crowd has is overwhelming, impossible to put into
words.
Instead of coming up with my own story I thought I
would share some of the comments from parents
who trust us enough to take care of their precious
kids. A big thank you to them for giving us
volunteers this amazing opportunity.
“Huge thanks from me, to all involved in Surf2Heal.
Conor had such a wonderful time. He was so
happy in the water and Brian and Jane, his main
teachers were just fantastic. As was everyone else.
What an amazing group of people you are. Not
just to give up your time, but for understandingabout waiting, Elopement and the security worries
we have as parents. We really enjoyed the
Certificate Night. It was so nice to go out and not
worry about my child acting weird.”
"I have never seen Daniel smile and laugh so
much; I have experienced my happiest moments
watching him on the water this week. Heartfelt
thanks to you all for making this miracle happen."
Sunset on Garretstown Beach
If anybody got inspired, the Surf2Heal crew
always
welcomes
new
volunteers
(see http://www.surf2heal.org) even if you are
not a surfer. Can't wait for Surf2Heal 2015.
MAKING
EVERY
EURO
COUNT
Getting over the January financial blues.
By Mark Mangan
January is always a blast right? The reality is that
many of us tend to have a challenge with finances
(and a few other things) after the merriment of the
Christmas and Holiday Season.
According to a credit union survey, it will take most
consumers more than eight weeks to recover from
their spending splurge.
We came across some really neat tips from The Irish
Times that may help you out. We know we’ll be well
into February by the time you read these, but hey,
why not try them for February, especially if you’ve
got your sight set on a white sand, blue sky dream
holiday for the summer and need to put some funds
away. Here you go….
1. Eat Porridge
Not my particular favourite BUT: Enough porridge to
keep a whole family going for seven days costs no
more than €1 in your local supermarket, if you
choose the right option. A week’s supply of milk for
that porridge will cost a fiver, which takes the total
cost of breakfast for a family of four to €6. A 1kg box
of Kellogg’s Cornflakes, meanwhile, costs nearly a
fiver. By swapping to porridge, you’ll shave €20 off
your monthly bill. And it’s better for you, too.
2. Make your own lunch
And take it to work with you. A sliced pan and a
block of cheese will easily knock €25 a week of the
cost of keeping yourself fed throughout the day. You
can also make a week’s worth of meaty stew for €5.
Five bread rolls to go with it will cost €2, taking the
cost of a hearty lunch for a working week to €7, or 80
per cent less than buying a sandwich every day.
3 Cut out your morning coffee too
But just until payday. By cutting out just one
takeaway coffee a day for the rest of the month,
you will save about €50. (Although we’re already
saving here at only 25c a cup for a Nespresso in the
break area! See? You’re saving already!)
4 Compare prices
Almost half of us have never compared prices to
see if we can get our gas or electricity for less. Only
a quarter have ever changed various providers –
e.g. insurance/bank provider etc. Spend an hour
this week shopping around for these things. It won’t
add anything to the bottom line for this month, but it
will make you feel better about yourself and your
finances.
5. Your flexible enemy
Take your credit cards out of your wallet and leave
them at home. If you have them with you, you
might be tempted to lean on them.
Leave the credit cards at home
6 Drop the debit card
Leave your debit card at home too. It’s much
easier to spend €100 on plastic than in cash: you
think about it more when you’re handing over
notes.
10 Get app happy
Download WhatsApp, Viber and Free Wifi Finder
and see how long you can go without using your
phone in a way that costs you money.
7 The no-spend challenge
Set yourself a challenge to spend nothing for just
one day. Then see if you can make it three days.
Then five. Spending money is a habit, but if you
put your mind to it, it can be broken. You’d be
amazed how easy and refreshing it is to get
through a whole day without spending a bean.
8 Drop the shops
The key to not spending money is not going in to
shops at all this week. If you find yourself
weakening, you just need to ask yourself if you
really need whatever it is you are tempted to buy.
If you can’t answer a truthful yes, then let it go.
Do you really need it?
Get App Happy
11 The soundness of Spotify
If you listen to music and have yet to discover the
joys of Spotify, you’re really missing out. The basic
version is free, but for €10 a month you will get
access to an enormous array of music. It is like
owning a record shop.
12 Flog your stuff on eBay
If you have never done it before it might sound
complicated, but it is very simple and can be
addictive.
9 Booze-free February
Get on the wagon, not forever but until the
beginning of next month. New year’s resolutions
are always a disaster because they are openended and we get bored and drop them, but if
you set yourself the goal of getting through the
next 25 days, it is much easier to do. The average
Irish adult drinks the equivalent of eight pints of
beer a week. That’s about €35 if you do all your
drinking in a pub. Cut it out for the month and
save yourself as much as €140.
13 Cash in your coppers
Last month the Central Bank pleaded for the safe
return of hundreds of millions of coppers worth tens
of millions of euro that have simply disappeared in
Irish homes. You probably have some of them. Cash
them in.
14 Switch to own-brand
Pricewatch has long been a convert to own-brand
products. We’re not saying they are all lovely; there
is some awful stuff selling under the brand names of
some of the State’s biggest retailers. But there is also
some very high-quality stuff, and typically it sells for
30 per cent less than the brand equivalent.
15 Supermarket sweep
Get to know the time your local supermarket marks
down its perishable goods every day. Most do it at
about 5pm, but it differs. You’ll save on perfectly
good food – and even some treats.
16 Scavenge
Empty your freezer and cupboards. You probably
have a whole week’s worth of food in there.
Jump on the wagon.
BOO!
Here is just a sample of some of the
Halloween fun and celebrations that
took place in the office on
31st October. Creepy!
BEING SOCIAL
By Ana Sofia Lopes
You would imagine that we would go for a Digital
Marketing conference or a Social Networks Platforms
workshop…but no, instead, we decided to go to
West Cork and do some Kayaking! As soon as we
were all together we made our way to Lough Hyne,
in West Cork where we met Jim, the Atlantic Sea
Kayaking owner and Barry, our instructor. Both of
them fantastic people! With a warm welcome, and
a couple of instructions on how not to drown and
how to un-flip your boat, we were ready to jump in
the kayaks and start our experience. After some
paddling we stopped to see rapids where only the
brave ones adventured and exchanged cultural
interests. Once we were back in our kayak we just
drifted until we got close to the coast. Needless to
say, West Cork is a great place to visit, but seeing
those landscapes in a small boat in the middle of a
lake is something worth taking the time to do. No
traffic, noise or industrial odour…just the sound of the
wind in the trees, the birds singing and the smell of
the sea…a must for your soul.
As we were in the midst of nature we decided to
have a picnic, which was the greatest idea ever,
especially because it wasn’t raining that day! You
could find a bit of every country on that table, from
Spanish tortilla to Russian homemade salad or
German sausages to Portuguese cheese and
pudding. A mix of food tastes which Barry and Jim
tried and enjoyed very much, as we in turn enjoyed
their company and their effort to make our day a
memorable one. On the way home we realized that
we still had some time left and feeling a bit cold
after the water activity and a picnic by the lake, a
warm coffee or tea sounded great, so we made a
quick stop to the cute village of Rosscarbery. Oh,
and I forgot to mention, we also have some brave
people in our team… who would you get into 10°C
water with nothing more than a swimsuit ? Well,
three of us did! #AwesomeTeamDayOut
GRECIAN
PARADISE
From the Grecian Paradise to our Emerald Isle
By Athanasia Kokkinaki & Erieti Fragkopoulou
Dunes Beach, Costa Navarino
In the summer of 2015, a meeting between Caroline
Cooney-Hurrell, the Centre VP and the then GM of the
Luxury Collection Resort, the Romanos, in Costa
Navarino, Michel Cottray, led to the opportunity of
having a couple of Associates from the property travel
to the Cork CCC for cross-training during their winter
season, when the hotel ceases activity.
The selection process led to Athanasia Kokkinaki & Erieti
Fragkopoulou being chosen to come over to us at the
end of November to spend 2 months experiencing all
the different Departments in our busy office. The great
side of this newly established exchange is that the next
stage will entail the selection of two Cork associates to
travel to the hotel in Greece, around April and May, to
work at property level! Flights and in-house
accommodation will be included in this great
opportunity and the Associates will remain on local
payroll.
Below you can read the account given by Erieti and
Athansia and stay tuned for more details on how you
can apply to be one of the two associates travelling!
Well, our time in Cork is coming to a close after two
months and we realize that we will be going back to
Greece with mixed feelings.
For by leaving here, we will be leaving behind a second
home. We visited here as representatives of the
Reservations Department of the Costa Navarino
complex (The Romanos, A Luxury Collection hotel and
The Westin Resort), located on the coast of Southwest
Peloponnese. The aim of our short-term transfer was to
exchange experience as well as to familiarize ourselves
with you, our Central Offices in Cork.
The end result would be to acquire a more enhanced
understanding of the CCC’s policies, procedures and
philosophy for a more seamless collaboration
The broader aim naturally, being to provide higher
quality of service to our guests. This cross-training
project turned out to be so much more than we
expected and felt immensely lucky to have
participated.
The Starwood offices here went the extra step by
materializing and supporting this project. Combined
with the great Irish generosity, it has all contributed to
expanding our hearts and knowledge so that, we
have a great wealth of experience to share with our
associates in Costa Navarino. We will be working
together from a distance more confidently now.
Based on how helpful this stay has been for us, we
believe that it will be equally beneficial for our two
associates from here who will visit our resorts. They will
experience what working in a hotel entails and also,
what our guests indulge themselves in. We are
looking forward to reciprocate the hospitality and
collaboration.
There cannot be a final “goodbye” of course, just a
great big, gigantic “THANK YOU” to every one of you
for making our stay here unforgettable.
NEW ARRIVALS
Avin Sida
DOB: 14th July 2014
Proud Father: Abdalla Sida
Gagik Tonoyan
DOB: 6th September 2014
Proud Father: Razmiks Tonoyan
Adam Salhi
DOB: 29th December 2014
Proud Father: Ayman Salhi
Samuel Zitny
DOB: 26th November 2013
Proud Mother: Ingrid Zitna
Henry Vincent Devenney
DOB: 28th July 2014
Proud Mother: Angela Kröger
Wiktoria Sabina Edo Kania
DOB: 3rd August 2014
Proud Father: Jordi Edo
CLIMB EVERY
MOUNTAIN
Social Club Hill Walking Events
By Gavin Conran
Ballycotton Cliffs – May 2014
2014 (Season 3) was quite an interesting year for
our hillwalking groups.
We travelled further from our home-base here in
Cork than in any of the previous years, filled
multiple buses with enthusiastic walkers ready to
take on a weekend challenge, made a whole
bunch of new friends, kicked back and shared
lunch together on beaches, cliff tops, mountain
summits and the side of the road (well….that
one time anyway).
Not a bad year at all. Thank you all so much for
making it thus.
We are very much looking forward to Season 4
and have some amazing walks in store, with
something to suit everyone as the season
progresses. Check out some of our photos
including our visit to Knockmealdown and the
Source of the Blackwater loop.
See you out there!
THERE
AND
BACK
By Emanuele Massolini
Hotel Pitrizza, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Costa Smeralda
Emanuele Massolini (pictured below right) worked with
us here in Cork from 2005 until 2011, first as Sales &
Service Associate and later as Supervisor for the Italian
Sales & Service Team. Emanuele is currently working
as Area Business Development Manager for Starwood
in Sardinia. Read his inspiring story here:
My career in the Hospitality started in 2005 when I had
the opportunity to work as a trainee in the Sales &
Marketing department for Starwood Hotels in Costa
Smeralda, Sardinia.
This experience was very inspiring and it gave me the
motivation to take decisions that I would have never
considered before. One of my colleagues, after
visiting the Cork CCC, was very excited telling me all
about it and he strongly advised me to apply for a job.
As my English was very poor at that stage, I decided to
attend a language school in Cork while spending a
couple of months with a local family before applying.
My intention was to spend a year abroad to improve
my language skill but I ended up in becoming an Irish
citizen for more than 6 years.
I will always remember Cork and the CCC as the place
that gave me the opportunity to take my first steps
towards a universe of possibility. I not only learned to
speak a new language but most importantly I learned
how to deal with different cultures, to think and
behave more like an global citizen feeling not just
Italian but also a bit Irish, Spanish, Swedish, Polish etc.
etc.
To leave Ireland was not an easy decision but the
time to change had arrived. Since I started in Costa
Smeralda, my dream had been always to work in
property, dealing directly with customers and
handling day-to-day operations. The opportunity
arose in Milan, where I was part of the pre-opening
team of a new hospitality chain, Armani Hotels.
During this time I managed the Reservations and
Revenue Management teams. This allowed me to
acquire the strategic knowledge which after 2 years
gave me the chance to come back to where I had
started - in Starwood Porto Cervo, Sardinia.
I am now part of the Executive Committee of
Starwood Hotels, Costa Smeralda Area in charge of
Business Development and Revenue Managment for
the 4 properties, Hotel Cala di Volpe, Hotel
Romazzino, Hotel Pitrizza and Cervo Hotel. A dream
come true.
A big thank you to all my Cork Supervisors,
colleagues and friends. You will be here in my heart,
always.
THE MAGIC
By Irene Santos
As it has become tradition, we hosted our yearly visit with
Santa for the children of Starwood employees, on 7th
December, at the Park Inn Hotel , Cork airport.
This is always a great opportunity for colleagues to bring
their children to visit Santa and pass on the all-important
letters to the man in the red suit  All enjoy also their
chance to relax away from work, while children play
together and others marvel at how much the children
change year on year 
Approximately 150 adults and children gathered in a
cold morning at the hotel, where activities included a visit
to Santa, tricks from a young magician, face and nail
painting, the presence of Donald Duck, children’s movies
playing in the background, disco for those young
dancing fans and some treats to keep all attendees
warm and happy.
SPIN
YOUR
WHEELS
Want to get fit for the beach this
Summer? Then check this out:
Did you know that you can avail of the
Bike to Work Scheme here at Starwood
and that over 12% of the Cork Associate
population have already participated in
this initiative since the Cork Goes Green
Team launched it in the office in
October 2010?
In case you need a reminder about the
scheme, here are the details:
The Bike to Work scheme is a
Government tax incentive scheme
which aims to encourage employees to
cycle to and from work. Under the
scheme, Starwood as your employer
with pay for your bicycle and bicycle
equipment (up to a maximum value of
€1000) and then you pay back through
a salary sacrifice arrangement of up to
12 months. You will not be liable for tax,
PRSI levies or the Universal Social charge
on your repayments, thereby making a
great saving on the purchase of the
bike.
How to avail of the scheme? Starwood
works with 3 bike shops in Cork:
Kilgrew’s Cycles, Kyle Street, Cork City
Centre (off North Main Street) or the
Edge Sports Shop, 79, North Main
Street/The Edge Superstore on Kinsale
Road and Cycle Scene, 396 Blarney
Street, Cork
If you would like to participate in the
scheme:
• Visit any of these selected stores and
select the equipment you wish to buy
• Get the shop staff to write out a quote for
the items agreed
• Bring the shop quote to either Tara
Moloney/Lorna O’Mahony in HR for
processing
We will arrange for the purchase of the
bike and will arrange for you to sign a
salary sacrifice document for the amount
involved over an agreed timeframe. The
turnaround time on transactions is usually
5-10 working days. The repayment for the
bicycle and bicycle equipment is then
deducted from your gross salary (this
means your salary before income tax,
PRSI, pension levies or Universal Social
Charge is deducted).
THREE PROMISES
LOTS OF REWARDS
In 2014 we gave out 278 Thank You
Certificates to our Sales and Service
Associates with a total of 139K
Starpoints being posted in recognition
of fulfilling our three promises:
DO THE RIGHT THING
PLAY AS A TEAM
GO THE EXTRA MILE
We’ll be continuing our Thank You
recognition program for 2015.
To our Sale and Service Team,
Thank you for all that you do.