Can Starwood Travel Agent Rates really save you money on your hotel booking?
Whatare Starwood Travel Agent Rates?
Like other major hotel brands and travel providers, Starwood Hotels & Resortsis known for offeringpreferred lower rates to travel agents, either for the agents themselves or for them to book on behalf of their clients.
SPG Prowas introduced two years ago and does more than just offer a discount, however, as it was designed to be a loyalty program that rewards business-to- business customers. In addition to a discount of 30% to 50%, account holders can take advantage of benefits such as bonus Starpoints for booking events and meetings and free in-room internet access:
SPG Pro even has an online training program, so that you can get up to speed on Starwood hotels and resorts around the world.
Travel agents and professional meeting planners are eligible to join SPG Pro, as well as qualified executive assistants who resideand work outside of the USor Canada. Only individual memberships are offered, so you can't enroll your company in the program, just yourself. To register for SPG Pro you'll need proper travel professional credentials, so an IATA, CLIA, ARC, TRUE or TIDS number.
Both travel professionals and meeting planners on SPG Pro are eligible for the cheaper STARPRO rates.
What else is in this post?
- What are Starwood Travel Agent Rates?
- How do I use Starwood Travel Agent Rates?
- What else do I need to know about Starwood Travel Agent Rates?
How do I use Starwood Travel Agent Rates?
You can directly access the site here or simply follow the link for travel professionals from the Starwood website:
You need to register with SPG Proif you want to access the special rates and program benefits. If you're already a Starwood Preferred Guest member, you can sign up for SPG Pro here. Not yet an SPG member? Sign up here instead.
If you're an executive assistant, you'll need to know your SET Number in order to make a booking. TheSET number is assigned to your company by Starwood and acts as a unique identifier. If you don't yet know your number, contact your Starwood Sales Associate.
What else do I need to know about Starwood Travel Agent Rates?
There doesn't seem to be a public way to check the rates before booking, so we can't compare to show you example discounts. Nevertheless, Starwood states that SPG Pro rates are their exclusive and lowest industry rates, starting from $69 a night:
If you're a travel agent, professional meeting planneror qualified executive assistant, it seems that you can certainly benefit in several ways by booking on SPG Pro, but always compare rates on Starwood before booking, just in case.