BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today announced its partnership with Jiepang, one of China’s leading location-based social mobile apps, to launch a new digital extension to their award-winning Starwood Preferred Guest(R) (SPG(R)) loyalty program specifically designed for Chinese travellers.
Forging ahead with its leading innovation in the digital space, Starwood announced its partnership with Jiepang to provide a localized social networking platform tailored specifically to Chinese travellers. Starting today, guests can earn valuable Starpoints(R) and Free Weekend Night Awards for Jiepang activity at over 200 Starwood hotels and resorts in Asia Pacific. This further allows for hotels to engage with guests and reward SPG members for their geo-social behavior, leveraging Starpoints as a form of "social currency." To get started, members can visit www.spg.com/jiepang to link their SPG and Jiepang accounts.
"China continues to be a major source of new loyalty travelers for Starwood as evidenced by the 71% jump in Chinese enrollment in Starwood Preferred Guest® last year. Following the success of the SPG global campaign with Foursquare earlier in 2011, SPG’s new partnership with Jiepang localizes and redefines the 'check-in' for our Chinese SPG members, enabling rewarding experiences beyond their hotel stays," said Janice Chan, Director, Digital Distribution & Marketing, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts. "This is yet another example of Starwood's ongoing commitment in building deeper relationships with our Chinese members in ways that are relevant to their lives."
“We're excited to partner with Starwood to develop an even better 'social loyalty' experience for users across the greater China region,” said David Liu, CEO and Founder of Jiepang. “Thanks to a deep integration of Jiepang with SPG, we are proud to present our users with more special rewards for 'checking in' on Jiepang at any of Starwood's over 200 hotels & resorts in Asia Pacific.”
Earn 250 Starpoints by Checking in on Jiepang with a Confirmed Reservation and Unlock Starwood Brand Badges for a Chance to Win a Grand Prize
From December 1, 2011 to January 31, 2012, SPG members can now earn bonus Starpoints by checking in via Jiepang with a confirmed reservation at one of more than 200 Starwood hotels and resorts in Asia Pacific. Plus, SPG members who check in via Jiepang and synchronize to at least two of their two different social networks will unlock a virtual badge of the respective Starwood hotel brands in Asia Pacific including St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W, Westin, Le Méridien, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, and Aloft. By unlocking a branded badge, SPG members will automatically be entered to win a Free Weekend Stay across Starwood hotels and resorts in Asia Pacific. Members who collect all eight Starwood brand virtual badges will also be entered to win SPG’s grand prize – a five-night getaway at The St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort, Hainan, China inclusive of domestic round-trip airfare for two.
SPG Jiepang Mayor to be Named Monthly
Every month, the SPG member with the greatest number of Jiepang check-ins across all Starwood hotels in Asia Pacific will be declared the SPG Mayor. In addition to status and special SPG perks, the Mayor will be interviewed and featured within the specials landing page and will also be asked to contribute travel tips to the SPG Jiepang tips page, www.jiepang.com/spg.
SPG membership is free and guests can begin earning Starpoints starting with their first stay. Travelers who are not yet SPG members can join the award-winning loyalty program during any stay at a Starwood hotel or resort. For more details on the program visit http://www.china-spg.com/jiepang/ to learn about the launch offer and new monthly SPG Mayor program.
About Jiepang
Jiepang (jiepang.com) is a location-based social mobile app that helps friends share where they are offline and in real-time. By “checking-in” with Jiepang’s iPhone, Android, or other mobile application, users share that they’ve arrived at specific venues, as well as share tips, photos, and comments around those venues. Merchants and brands can use Jiepang to reach, engage, and learn about their customers in both the offline and online worlds. To date, over 300 brands have partnered with Jiepang including Starbucks, McDonalds, Nike, Louis Vuitton and more. Jiepang is available for download in the iPhone App Store and Android Market, as an HTML5 or WAP mobile website at Jiepang.com, and also preloaded on all new HTC, Sony Ericsson, Nokia and other smartphone brands in China. Jiepang is headquartered in Beijing, with offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei, and other cities as it serves its over 1.5M users in the major cities of greater China region.
Latest updates about Jiepang are available from the official blog and Sina Weibo (Chinese language):
About Starwood Preferred Guest
The SPG program’s breakthrough policy of No Blackout Dates at the world’s most sought after collection of hotels, reinvented the hospitality loyalty program when it launched in 1999. By creating a program centered on its members, SPG has developed the most passionate and knowledgeable membership base in the hotel loyalty space. Through its use of new technologies and innovative channels such as SPG.com, SPG.com/stayconnected, SPG.com/flights and others, SPG continues to innovate and lead the industry. By offering No Blackouts on standard rooms at over 1,071 hotels and resorts in nearly 100 countries, No Blackouts on hundreds of airlines, and once in a lifetime experiences available through SPG Moments at spg.com/moments, the program has proven to be a big draw for the world’s most frequent travelers, and a significant competitive advantage for Starwood. For more information about Starwood Preferred Guest please visit SPG.com or call (877) – STARWOOD.
About Starwood Hotels Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1071 properties in 100 countries and territories with 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and Element SM. The company boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.