jeff diskin,head of hilton hhonors (hilton's guest reward program), opened the wall street journal on February 2, 1999, and read the headline, "starwood hotels and resorts wordwide inc. is expected to unveil tomorrow an aggressive frequent - guest program that it hope willhelp lure more business travelers to its Sheraton, Westin and other hotels. Accompanied by 50 dollars million ad campaign, the program ratchet up the stakes in the loyalty - program game that big corporate hotel companies, including starwood and its rivals at marriott, hilton and Hyatt are playing. Diskin did not hide his concern: "These guys are raising their costs, and they're probably raising mine too. They are reducing the cost-effectiveness of the industry's most important marketing tool by deficit spending against their program. Loyalty programs have been at the core of how we attract and retain our best customers for over a decade. But they are only as cost-effective as our competitors let them be.