WHITE PLAINS, N.Y - Aug. 14, 2001-- Starwood
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NSYE:HOT) announced today that its
three largest hotel brands are replacing existing baby cribs with brand
new custom-designed cribs, developed to be ultra-safe, stylish and comfortable.
More than 2,000 new cribs are headed to 300-plus Westin, Sheraton and
Four Points by Sheraton hotels throughout North America, representing an
investment of more than $1 million.
Hotel Industry Taken to Task for Unsafe Cribs
Starwood's crib initiative comes just over a year after the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the National SAFE KIDS® Campaign
found unsafe cribs and play yards in the majority of hotels they visited
around the country. From motels to luxury resorts, SAFE KIDS found that
four out of five of the hotels they checked had cribs with at least one
safety hazard including: loose hardware; soft bedding, comforters or pillows
that could cause suffocation; or adult-sized sheets that pose a strangulation
and suffocation hazard.
"As a father of young children, I thought hotel cribs looked pretty
shabby - weathered, cheap and not very clean,'' said Barry S. Sternlicht,
Starwood's Chairman and CEO. ``Most of the time my wife and I would carry
our own crib with us on vacation, or end up putting the kids in bed with
us to avoid hotel cribs. Not only were the cribs ugly, we often questioned
their safety. And the SAFE KIDS survey confirmed that hotel cribs can in
fact be dangerous.''
According to Sternlicht, Starwood
had long planned to develop better-looking cribs for its hotel brands,
but when the SAFE KIDS report was released, he re-directed the operations
research and development team to push up the project and focus on safety,
in addition to design.
Starwood's New Cribs to Set Safety Standard in Hotel Industry
During its research and development, Starwood gathered every commercial
hotel crib on the market, and evaluated each for safety, aesthetics, maintenance
and ease of set up. In the end, Starwood chose to specially design a crib
with extra precautions that actually exceed the safety regulations of both
the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Juvenile Product
Manufacturers Association (JPMA). Features of Starwood's new crib include:
-
A four-inch thick, natural baby firm mattress that is nearly double the
thickness of typical foam mattresses found in most hotels, and more like
mattresses found in most upscale home nurseries. Mattresses are also waterproof,
flame retardant and feature vent holes for air circulation.
-
A durable insulator pad, padded with cocoa leaf and cotton batting that
tops the crib mattress to provide an extra luxurious sleeping surface.
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A reinforced safety latch and special hardware fittings on the crib's bottom
to prevent the mattress from falling through.
-
Custom-designed linens, including a bumper pad for extra comfort and safety
- all tightly fitted to prevent suffocation from excess material.
-
Safe teething rails with non-toxic plastic top.
"We commend Starwood for their leadership role in ensuring that these new
cribs meet, and even exceed, safety standards,'' said Heather Paul, Ph.D.,
Executive Director, National SAFE KIDS Campaign. ``Starwood's commitment
to crib safety and their investment in new cribs is great news for traveling
families.''
New Heavenly Crib(TM) and Sweet Sleeper Crib(TM) Designed to be
More Like Home |
An Informal Assessment of Hotel Cribs
and
Play Yards
August 1998-September 1999
Concerned parents go out of their way to select the right
crib for their baby�s nursery at home, but how safe is the crib they use
in a hotel or motel? To gain a broad understanding of hotel crib safety
issues, SAFE KIDS inspected 122 cribs and play yards at hotels across the
United States between August 1998 and September 1999. SAFE KIDS Coalition
volunteers conducted these informal checks at 90 hotels, inns and motor
lodges in 27 states and the District of Columbia. Eighty-seven percent
of these hotels were members of different regional, national and international
chains. SAFE KIDS found unsafe cribs and play yards in 80 percent of the
hotels visited.
Coalition volunteers examined a total of 91 traditional
cribs and 31 mesh cribs/play yards. They observed hazards in 82 percent
of the traditional cribs and in 52 percent of the mesh cribs/play yards
provided by hotels. The top problems are outlined below.
Traditional Cribs Inspected
49 cribs (54 percent) were provided with adult sheets
� a potential cause of suffocation and strangulation.
39 cribs (43 percent) lacked secure mattress supports
� a potential fall and entrapment hazard.
28 cribs (31 percent) were provided with soft bedding
� a potential suffocation hazard.
19 cribs (21 percent) had loose hardware � an entrapment
risk for infants.
Mesh Cribs/Play Yards Inspected
10 mesh cribs/play yards (32 percent) were provided with
soft bedding � a potential cause of suffocation.
8 mesh cribs/play yards (26 percent) were recalled.
7 mesh cribs/play yards (23 percent) had tears or holes
in the meshing � a potential entrapment hazard for infants.
The SAFE KIDS assessment presents parents with a snapshot
of what they might find when visiting hotels and motels around the country.
It is an informal review conducted by SAFE KIDS Coalition volunteers and
does not imply that any particular hotel or chain is more or less safe
than others.
- National SAFE KIDS
Campaign - |
|
In addition to striving to have the safest crib in the hotel industry,
Starwood set out to develop the most stylish crib as well, designing two
versions of its crib to complement the unique design features of its brands.
In keeping with Starwood's design philosophy, the new cribs have a high-end
residential look as opposed to the more utilitarian, sterile design of
typical hotel cribs.
The Westin Heavenly Crib features a white wood finish, fitted blue bottom
sheet with a cloud design, white bumper pad and white flounced dust ruffle
with delicate bows. Inspired by Westin's all-white Heavenly Bed(TM), the
Heavenly Crib is the brand's newest ``heavenly'' innovation and will be
offered in its North American properties.
The Sweet Sleeper Crib will be featured in North American Sheraton
and Four Points by Sheraton properties. With its handsome natural wood
finish, fitted blue sheets with a whimsical car design in bright primary
colors, navy bumper pad and
white cotton blanket, the Sweet Sleeper Crib complements Sheraton's
sleigh bed and rich, jewel-tone color scheme found in recently renovated
rooms around the country.
``If you look at photos of typical hotel cribs, it's a pretty depressing
sight. The cribs are metal with flimsy mattresses and old sheets - certainly
not very inviting or comfortable looking,'' said Sternlicht. ``Hotels should
be a treat for even our youngest guests, and certainly we want parents
to feel secure knowing their infant is sleeping in a clean, comfortable,
safe and luxurious crib.''
Crib Training and Do's and Don'ts are Key to New Crib Rollout
When the CPSC and National SAFE KIDS Campaign conducted their inspection
of hotel cribs, many violations were the result of human error - adult
sheets on cribs, pillows placed in cribs, or cribs assembled improperly.
As part of its crib launch, Starwood is rolling out a training program
designed to educate associates about crib safety. The company has also
provided hotels with a `Safety Spot Check List'' to be completed upon each
assembly and takedown of the crib. The inspection includes the following
checks:
-
Is crib situated in a safe part of the room? It should not be near lamps,
dangling cords or ribbons, windows, fans, heaters or climbable furniture.
-
Is bumper pad punctured or torn? A torn plastic cover may end up suffocating
a baby. Rattle mattress support; thump the mattress from the top
and repeat the thumping on the bottom. Is mattress support mechanism secure?
-
Are there any split, cracked, broken, loose or missing slats?
Both the Heavenly Cribs and Sweet Sleeper Cribs began rolling out last
month, and are currently in 100 hotels. All Westin, Sheraton and Four Points
by Sheraton hotels in North America are required to have the cribs by next
year. In the meantime, Starwood hotels that do not yet feature the new
cribs are required to have cribs that meet the safety requirements of the
Consumer Product Safety
Commission and the Juvenile Product Manufacturers Association.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading
hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 725 properties
in 80 countries and 120,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.
With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner,
operator and franchiser 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. |