WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and concert-promoter Live Nation Entertainment Inc. have extended the strategic sponsorship alliance they forged back in 2009.
The renewed and expanded partnership lets Starwood leverage Live Nation’s extensive roster of live entertainment events to offer its Starwood Preferred Guest members with exclusive benefits, including music-inspired promotions and redemption opportunities, access to intimate acoustic performances and artist after-parties taking place around the globe at Starwood properties, as well as access to premium tickets and VIP experiences.
“Starwood’s SPG program has been a category-differentiator since its inception, and our innovative alliance with Live Nation Entertainment solidifies our leadership position by providing members with benefits that are not only exclusive, but that align with their passions and pursuits,” says Phil McAveety, Starwood’s chief brand officer. “Our relationship with Live Nation Entertainment has been extremely successful, and we’re pleased to renew and expand it so that our members and their families have the opportunity to get up close and personal with their favorite music artists.”
In addition to providing direct consumer benefits, the relationship—which expands further into Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia—is mutually beneficial to both companies. Starwood is now the exclusive preferred hotel partner of Live Nation and Ticketmaster worldwide. The Live Nation Entertainment global ecommerce platform allows Starwood to connect with the 200 million fans attending 100,000 events around the world annually through the “Where To Stay” booking function on both LiveNation.com and Ticketmaster.com.
In addition, Starwood will work directly with the entertainment company’s touring division to arrange customized hotel bookings for artists on tour and for all corporate travel, providing a measurable cost savings for the company’s global travel and lodging needs. Starwood will also promote Live Nation concert tours in communication to SPG members and to Starwood hotel guests.
“The partnership capitalizes on the power of our integrated marketing platform, including the third largest e-commerce site in the world,” says Russell Wallach, president of Live Nation Network. “We’re tapping into our thousands of concerts to offer Starwood’s guests exceptional experiences that build on the power of live entertainment, while helping Starwood to reward and expand their customer base through highly efficient and measurable marketing programs to drive their business.”