Welcome / Bienvenue / Willkommen / Bienvenido / ようこ
Celebrating  27 years of allowing "friends to keep in touch with friends";  the 13th anniversary of the WAA website and year 3 of Facebook!

Established 1991 / 1,100 Members / 25 Member Countries


Did you work for Westin, or one of its affilaite companies for a minimum of five years from 1930-1998? If so you may qualify for membership.

 
Thank you for visiting the WAA website!

From its founding in 1991 the sole purpose of the WAA was to provide means for former Westin associates to stay in touch, i.e. friends keeping in touch with friends. That remains our purpose to this day. 

With the purchase by Starwood in 1998 the company, Westin Hotels & Resorts, founded in 1930, ceased to exist, thus the association focuses on the years that Western Hotels operated as a company, namely 1930-1998.
Until May of 2018 membership was restricted to those who had worked in the corporate, regional sales, and affiliate offices such as Westin Service & Supply. Within hotels it is restricted to General Managers, Executive Assistant Managers and Division Heads.

Then, with the concurrence of the WAA board in March, potential membership was expanded to include those who had worked in any capacity for the company for 5 or more years. The group selected five years as a time period that would allow an associate to learn the history of the company and to understand its culture and values.

Over the years various groups of alums dispersed around the globe have arranged to meet for lunch, dinner or even for a weekend. Events have taken place in Tokyo, Oslo, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Johannesburg, Vancouver, Ottawa, Seattle, Denver, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., Bellevue (2006) and Las Vegas (2016). In the latter two these were weekend events that drew hundreds of members from around the globe.

We hope that you will enjoy the history, photos, stories and trips down memory lane as you view the website content.

Western Hotels, later Western International Hotels, Westin Hotels, and Westin Hotels & Resorts was an innovative and storied company populated with outstanding people!

Yes, people did make the difference!

Sincerely,
Ray Sylvester
WAA President
1965-1998
 

Thursday April 12, 2018

Phoenix Valley Reunion Luncheon
T. Cook's, Royal Palms Resort
Phoenix, 

April 2017: Oslo, Norway: Over 30 alums from SAS Scandanavian Hotel Oslo which opened in 1975 met at Posthallen Restaurant Bar and Cafe to celebrate friendships!

1st row.

Tom Fossengen, Anne Wallin Rødven, Ulla Mark Løvstrøm, Hanne Hagen, Kersi Porbunderwalla, Guri Lauritzen, Inken Lundgård, Judith Espeskog, Turid Kvalheim Flinder,

2nd row:

Johan Zinsli (profile), Eivind Dalvang, Sidsel Haavardtun, Lykke Bogen, Nina Kase, Rita Rasmussen, Sølvi (Knotten) Paulgaard, Kirsti Johansen

Last row 3 and 4:

Steinar Hansen, Kristoffer Breivik, Morten Fure, Truls Becker, Therese Klaveness, Liv (Herud) Becker, Karin Schanke, Edgar Valdmanis, Anna Thorud Hammer, Pål Gjelseth, Kirsten Månum Gløersen, Bjørn Solberg (just behind Kirstien), Thorleif Solstad

Originally paid by MetLife then transferred to MetLife product, Brighthouse Financial.
If you are not sure if you qualify for a Westin retirement benefit call Brighthouse at 800-638-5433, and ask if you have a Westin Retirement benefit due.  M-F 8am-8pm ET.

MyHR by Marriott

Originally paid by Starwood. In January of 2018 Marriott became the payee through their out-sourced program manager, Alright Solutions. MyHR at 888-884-6947, M-F 9am-8pm ET.

Congratulations to Chris Marker, George Forbes, and Peter Smith who were inducted into the Washington State University Hospitality Hall of Fame March 23, 2018 in Pullman!

Take a look at some of the past Front magazine covers. Jay Aven saved 59 Front magazines and has contributed them to the Westin Collection.

Consider joining Facebook to connect with the over 410 alums who access the Westin Alumni Facebook page. There is no cost involved, and you post only what you want to share with others.

Read a Biography on Edward E.  Carlson

"In my judgement a lifetime with nothing to show other than the accumulation of wealth will never be as fulfilling as a life with vivid memories of the joys and warmth in the wealth of friends. Everyone can enjoy the wealth of friends".

Recollections of a Lucky Fellow 1989

Western Hotels, Inc
Western International Hotels
Westin Hotels
Westin Hotels & Resorts

1930-1998

Founders



Peter Schmidt, Sr.
First Company Chairman



S.W. Thurston
First Company President




Harold E. Maltby
First Company Vice President


 
Frank A.  Dupar

Lynn Himmelman


Gordon Bass

.

Harry Mullikin
 

The Westin Building
Seattle, WA
Westin Hotels & Resorts
Corporate Headquarters
1981 - 1999

 

2pm on Tuesday, June 11, 1912 the pilot made history (Morning Oregonian, 12-June-1912):
Aviation science took another stride toward perfection yesterday afternoon when Silas Christofferson, the youthful Portland bird-man, successfully piloted his biplane from the top of the Multnomah Hotel building to Vancouver, Wash. He flew the eight miles, crossing the Willamette and Columbia rivers, in 12 minutes.
Other aviators have made speedier journeys, but it remained for the unlicensed ex-automobile racer to be the pioneer in trusting his heavier-than-air machine in a start from the midst of the business section of a great city.
A crowd of 50,000, scattered along half a dozen streets, lining roofs of dozens of office buildings, and perched precariously at every available point of vantage, witnessed the splendid start of the daring young aviator.
The crowd roared as the machine gracefully and surely left its board footing and soared forth on its journey to Vancouver.