Starwood Hotels & Resorts has introduced three new Starwood Pro destination modules for South and Central America. The three new modules are for Panama City, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. Starwood now has 14 destination ProLearning programs.
Starwood has 76 hotels in Latin America and expects to have 100 operating or in development by the end of the year.
The Rio module covers the city's famous Carnival, its beaches and the fact that it will be host to both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. The module covers the city's gastronomy, entertainment, shopping and tourist attractions. It also covers Starwood's properties, the Sheraton Rio Hotel & Resort, Sheraton Barra Hotel & Suites, and the Four Points by Sheraton Macae.
The Panama City module covers the city's skyscrapers and colonial buildings, the Panama Canal and the city's shopping, museums, food and museums. Starwood hotels in Panama City include the Aloft Panama, Four Points by Sheraton Panama, Four Points by Sheraton Colon, the Westin Panama, the Westin Playa Bonita, Panama, the Sheraton Panama Hotel & Convention Center, the Sheraton Bijao Beach Resort and Le Meridien, Panama.
The Buenos Aires class covers the city's festivals, food and entertainment. It also covers the newly redone Park Tower, a Luxury Collection Hotel; the Sheraton Pilar Hotel & Convention Center, the Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel & Convention Center and the Sheraton Libertador Hotel.
More than 40,000 travel professionals have completed ProLearning's Loyalty & Brands module and are now qualified for Starpro travel professional rates, bookable at starwoodpro.com and starting at $69 a night. Travel professionals must be StarwoodPro Loyalty& Brands graduates to enroll in Starwood Destinations modules and qualify for other benefits.
Follow Kate Rice on Twitter @krtravelweekly.