On October 6 . . . Thousands of free rooms at Sheraton Hotels in celebration of a $4 billion Sheraton brand makeover

This Sheraton's in Shenzhen, China, so don't expect a free night here

Woohoo!  Sheraton is giving up thousands of free nights at many North American properties as part of a campaign promoting the $4 billion touch up of the Sheraton brand.  Starting October 6, the campaign for the free nights kicks off.  It’s important to note that the free night is available for redemption ONLY ON OCTOBER 23.  The free rooms will be released to guests on a first come first serve basis, and you’ve got to visit the following link between October 6-9 to have a chance at getting a comp night: www.sheraton.com/freenight.

A total of 86 newly renovated Sheratons in the US and Canada are chipping in rooms for this campaign, and roughly 2,100 rooms will be dished out to lucky guests.

“In North America, we’ve had a pretty mixed history. We’ve have some great hotels and we’ve have some hotels that were substandard,” said Hoyt Harper, SVP of brand management. “This is a new beginning for the brand.”

You better believe this poor grad student is gonna do everything he can to get a free room!

From the AP . . .

As part of the effort that was launched in 2007, Sheraton cut underperforming locations from its roster and added or renovated 70,000 Sheraton rooms around the globe. Nearly three-quarters of them were in the U.S. and Canada, and almost half of the brand’s 203 North American locations have been renovated through the effort.

Morningstar analyst Michelle Chang said such an undertaking is vital for hotels, which must constantly update themselves risk losing customers for good.

“If a hotel company doesn’t continually reinvest in their properties, it’s going to lose its luster, and it’s going to look run down,” she said. “And so you have to keep reinvesting in the property to keep it fresh and keep it new and keep it updated.”

Ross Klein departs from his position at Hilton following Starwood’s espionage lawsuit

What's left of DenizenHotels.com . . . nothing

The image to the right is what’s left of Hilton’s launched but then withdrawn Denizen Hotels brand website.  I remember it was a flashy site that sparked my curiosity big time about the new brand, but there’s not much to see these days when you visit the site today.

Remember Starwood’s lawsuit against Hilton re: the corporate espionage that led to Hilton’s ability to develop Denizen Hotels so quickly?  Just as a quick refresher, Hilton hired several Starwood employees including Ross Klein and Amar Lalvani, to lead the development of their lifestyle hotel brand.  Hilton at the time did not have a brand in this market category.  Hilton at this time still does not.

Hilton has recently replaced Ross Klein after the Starwood lawsuit accused him and Hilton of stealing highly confidential information.  Previously, Klein was placed on administrative leave back in April but apparently he is no longer with Hilton.  His successor is John Vanderslice of Miraval Spa.  Without any surprise, there is no comment from anyone.

From Times Online:

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that Mr Klein and Amar Lalvani, a former Starwood colleague who defected with him to Hilton, “stole massive amounts of proprietary and highly confidential Starwood information.”

The news that Mr Klein has left will reignite speculation that Hilton, which is also being sued, is close to agreeing a settlement with its rival aimed at drawing a line under what the writ called “the clearest imaginable case of corporate espionage, theft of trade secrets, unfair competition and computer fraud.”

Kimpton Hotels joins Element Hotels on going 100% green!

Kimpton Hotels just announced that it has made a strategic decision to convert all of its 50 or so properties into “green” certified hotels.  This initiative is similar to the strategy behind Starwood’s Element Hotels, though there are some key differences.  Primarily, the organizations that are conducting the inspection and certification for each hotel company are not the same.  Kimpton is applying for certification through Green Seal, which is an independent, non-profit organization.  Starwood’s Element Hotels is going through the US Green Building Council and their LEED certification.  Once each of Kimpton’s properties receive Green Seal certification, the company will boast the largest portfolio of ALL green certified hotels in the US.

Currently Kimpton Hotels has already achieved Green Seal certification for several of its properties.  In Chicago, the Hotel Allegro, Hotel Burnham, and Hotel Monaco have all received Silver Green Seal certification.  And let’s not forget about the Hotel Monaco in Portland, which has also received honors.

While going green is certainly the “in” thing to do in the hotel industry, the economic downturn has made many owners and developers prioritize these initiatives a bit lower in the food chain.  It’s good to see that this California-based hotel company is still setting a good example, which I’m sure chain after chain will mimic in the  next few years once the economy ramps back up.

Source: USA Today

Starwood’s “quintessential” Hawaiian address is now The St. Regis Princeville Resort

Welcome to The St. Regis Princeville Resort.

After almost a year long renovation process that transformed the former Princeville Resort into a St. Regis, the property reopened its doors to welcome back 290 employees who worked there prior to the renovation and rebrand.  An overwhelming 96% of the staff are from the former Princeville Resort.  As I flip through the pages of my organizational behavior course packet readings, I can’t help but think of what a strong work culture the hotel has managed to develop if that many of its previous associates decided to come back.

“The idea was to make them feel special and like St. Regis guests,” said St. Regis Princeville Resort General Manager Milton Sgarbi.
“We’re so grateful they came back,” he also added.  A few returning employees even shed a few tears.  How touching!

As for the property itself, what can we expect to see on the grand opening date of September 26?  For starters, it seems like the “European marble-style” was thrown out and replaced with what I consider to be a much more locally fitting “Hawaiian style.”  I haven’t seen the before, and I doubt I can afford to see the after any time soon on my grad school budget, but I’ve heard this property is just stunningly beautiful beyond imagination.

Sgarbi also expressed a thriving interest in The St. Regis Princeville’s upcoming grand opening events, which includes an appearance by Mitzi Gaynor on October 3 during a private gala.  Did you know that the site of The St. Regis Princeville Resort is where parts of the “South Pacific” was filmed about 50 years ago?

Source: Kauai World

Holy stars. Check out the new SPG promotion for Gold and Platinum members!

i'm a lowly gold, so only the double nights offer for me. :-p

Open up the flood gates because there are a pair of new SPG promotions that are open to all SPG Gold and Platinum members that just got rolled out earlier today.

The first promo is called, “Nights Advance.”

I have never seen anything like this before.  I think this is the first time SPG has allowed its members to actually accrue elite qualifying stays for the following year BEFORE the end of the current year.  Basically, you can get a head start on next year’s elite qualification time frame starting NOW.  It appears any nights between October 1 and December 31 will count towards 2009 accrual as well as 2010 accrual.  Here’s the link: spg.com/nightsadvanceterms

The second promo is called, “Nights Count Double.”

All Gold members will be able to double the accrual of their nights toward qualifying for elite status.  While not quite as exciting as a double stays promo, there’s nothing to complain about double nights.  Find out more information by clicking here: spg.com/ncdterms

Apparently Platinum members actually have a choice between either promotion.  Also, don’t forget that there’s always a lot of extra hotel rooms layin around during the Thanksgiving and pre-Christmas time periods.  It might be a good time to travel and score some rates that are sure to put a smile on your face . . . and some double stay/night credit in your SPG account too!

The 999 SPG Promotion. Does that mean rooms at $9.99?

No, not quite but at least it’s something on the table.  There are a variety of incentives to book an upcoming weekend stay in the Northeast or Midwest including the following:

• 999 bonus Starpoints
• Room upgrades
• Breakfast or parking for just $9.99

If you’ve got an upcoming trip in either the Northeast or Midwest, click here or on the picture and see what’s being offered at the hotels there.  Just remember you’ve got until September 9 to book and you’ve gotta stay by December 27, 2009.

Happy Labor Day!

“Get Closer to Paradise” SPG promotion now extended to Europe, Middle East, and Africa

Looks like the US version of the latest SPG promo has been released in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.  Now when you stay at over 100 participating properties in this region, you can earn 1,000 Starpoints per stay through this SPG promo called, “Get Closer to Paradise.” These Starpoints are eligible on stays between September 1 and November 30, 2009.

Here’s the web registration page, which you must complete if you want to receive the Starpoints: http://www.spgpromos.com/1000starpoints/?EM=Q309_MT_NAD

Now the only region of the world without an SPG promotion is Asia!  Well, travelers to that area will be well rewarded.  Looks like instead of bonus Starpoints they will receive free weekend nights for their stays.  That’s almost always worth more than Starpoints if you use them on the higher category properties like W, St. Regis, Luxury Collection, and even Sheratons and Westins in Asia.  For example, the Westin Bund Center in Shanghai at times has higher rates and Starpoints redemption thresholds than the St. Regis across the river.