New York City’s first-ever “hotel week” offers deep discounts January 6 – 15

by McLean Robbins on

Sure, we have a love-hate relationship with the ever popular restaurant week, where restaurants in cities across the nation arrange to offer three-course meals for somewhere in the neighborhood of $35 for a week at a time in the spring and fall.

But we’ve never heard of this concept being applied to hotels. For the first time ever, New York City will host a “Hotel Week” (January 6-15) during one of the slowest occupancy weeks of the year in an attempt to boost tourism. It’s a great way to experience hotels that are normally $500 a night and up, or for locals to get away for a quick staycation over MLK Day weekend.

Eight hotels (conveniently all in the same PR firm’s portfolio) are offering these deals, with a one-night stay on a tiered system of $100, $200, or $250 a night. Info on how to book each property below:

HOTEL NEIGHBORHOOD RATE HOW TO BOOK
The Pod Hotel Midtown East $100 Call and mention “Hotel Week”
Z NYC Hotel Long Island City, Queens $100 Call and mention “Hotel Week”
The Hotel @ Times Square Times Square $100 Call and mention “Hotel Week”
nyma, the new york manhattan hotel Herald Square $100 Call and mention “Hotel Week”
Andaz Wall Street Wall Street $200 Use this link to book.
Hyatt 48 Lex Midtown East $200 Use this link to book.
Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC Meatpacking District $250 Use this link to book.
Gansevoort Park Avenue NYC NoMad $250 Use this link to book.

*includes accommodations in a Queen Room (The Pod Hotel)
“Every hotel in New York could use incremental business in January. We borrowed from the success of Restaurant Week and the fun I’ve had with staycations in the city,” said Nancy Friedman, president of Nancy J. Friedman Public Relations. “There’s nothing like escaping to an amazing hotel for a night––whether you’re a local or a visitor!”
Guests can take advantage of the deals by calling the hotels directly and mentioning “hotel week” when booking, or through the hotel web site. (Booking details are listed in the above chart.) The promotion is subject to availability.

Andaz 5th Avenue offers a tattoo artist in residence, Mister Cartoon

by McLean Robbins on

We all knew that Andaz hotels were cool – after all, this is the hotel brand that brought you king-bedded suites with stripper poles and chic-ly dressed “hosts” in local designers in lieu of frond desk staff, and a mini bar stuffed with gratis snacks. But now they’ve one-upped themselves … with an in-residence tattoo artist at Andaz 5th Avenue.

The only way to skip his year-long waiting list? Book a room at the hotel. Mister Cartoon has inked some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Eminem, Justin Timberlake and Beyonce.

In addition, Mister Cartoon will spend five days creating a mural on the door leading to the bar downstairs as the second artist to participate in the hotel’s tbd Art program, a rotating art series. Apart from living and breathing canvases, Mister Cartoon’s art has also been on display in exhibitions such as MoCA’s seminal Art in the Streets exhibit.

Just FYI, this is only available through December 22, so you’d better start picking out your design.

Hotels to ditch front desks in the next three years

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Is the hotel front desk a thing of the past?

I was pretty blown away by this concept, which I ran into on MSNBC yesterday. It seems that the Los Angeles Andaz hotel and the Andaz in New York City have both gotten rid of the front desk. Instead, the hotel is greeting guests with a “host” bearin wine, a great chair and the chance to choose a room by laptop. The move, intended to be high-touch and personal, has played differently in both locations – welcomed in LA and not so much in Manhattan.

Yet, it could signal the next big trend in the hotel industry. The personal welcomes do focus more on the guest, and the thought of waiting in a comfy lobby chair instead of standing in line laden with baggage is pretty attractive. So far, Courtyard by Marriott has moved away from the front desk concept in 201 of its 800 lobbies in the United States, favoring “welcome pedestals” instead. By 2013, it hopes to complete the transition.

Changes are coming at other hotels, too, according to MSNBC:

Several thousand customers who already carried Starwood Preferred Guest cards were texted their room numbers before arriving at the Aloft Lexington in Massachusetts, allowing them to bypass the front desk and head to their floor. Once there, they simply tapped their preferred guest card on the door lock for room access. That pilot program is being expanded to Alofts in Harlem, Brooklyn, Jacksonville, Fla. and Brussels, Belgium.

James Sinclair, principal of OnSite Consulting, which focuses on the hospitality and restaurant industries, expects the front-desk concept to last another 36 months. In addition to appealing to many travelers, the move is expected to cut operating costs and give hotels a bit more breathing room follow a trying economic period.

[photo by prayitno via Flickr]

Hotels keeping up the pace with new technology

by Melanie Nayer on

iPod docking stations are so last year. Today, hotels are making a more concerted effort to upgrade their guest rooms and common areas with the newest technology that keeps guests connected, educated, and often times inspired, during their stay. While many hotels bring in iPads to keep their guests entertained, other hotels are getting super-sexy with some unique high-tech initiatives.

Check out the Royal Mansour in Marrakech. The property was created completely by Moroccan artisans and craftsman trained in the traditional arts of carving, silk weaving, and mosaics, but the hotel added cutting-edge technology throughout. For example, every guest room has a touch screen wall that enables guests to control lighting and temperature levels (tres chic!) and in case you tire of the personal butler service (although we can’t imagine why you would,) there is a ‘Do Not Disturb’ button on your wall for ultimate privacy.

Guest rooms at Pavillon des Lettres in Paris are perfect for the aspiring storyteller. Opening this autumn, Pavillon des Lettres is a small 26-room upscale hotel with a novel idea: guest rooms that are devoted to a letter of the alphabet that corresponds with a famous writer. (Think: H for Hugo or B for Balzac.) Passages from the writer’s books will appear above the bed and a hard copy of the book can be found on the nightstand. C’est magnifique! Closer to home, the quaint New England island of Nantucket is getting into the high-tech crazy. Nantucket Island Resorts offers Flip Video Camcorders for guests to use at each property, so you can record the sunsets, the hikes, the storms and the endless display of Nantucket baskets that parade around the island every summer. (Hint from this New Englander: Grab a seat at the White Elephant at sunset and capture the boats coming into the dock – it’s one of the best, and most unique, New England moments). You can enter a one-minute video clip in the Flip Out on Nantucket Sweepstakes for the chance to win a grand prize Nantucket vacation worth $15,000.

We couldn’t do a post about high-tech hotels without mentioning one of the newest and techiest hotels to hit the New York scene: Andaz Wall Street and the newly opened Andaz 5th Avenue. Thanks to technology, guests skip the front-desk altogether and use mobile tablets to check in with the hotel’s floating ‘hosts’. Have a rough day? Enjoy a glass of wine while you check-in. In a hurry? Check-in from the elevator on the way to your room. Guests just swipe their credit cards and a room key is created on the spot. Genius!

Gadling readers: What new technology would you like to see in hotels?

Andaz 5th Avenue accepting reservations for August 1

by Melanie Nayer on

Hot off the hotel presses — the much-anticipated new Andaz hotel on 5th Avenue is set to open Aug. 1. The celebrate the second Andaz in New York, the hotel is offering a special preview rate of $295.

The Andaz 5th Avenue has been in the works since the beginning of the year and devotees of Hyatt’s boutique brand have been eagerly awaiting the hotel’s grand opening. Located at 485 5th Avenue between 40th and 41st streets, the Andaz 5th Avenue calls the New York Public Library and Bryant Park its neighbors, giving guests prime location to some of New York’s top attractions.

The Andaz 5th Avenue is set in the historic 1916 Rogers Peet Building – once a men’s retail store – and offers loft-style guest rooms, a restaurant, bar and room service. Of course, it will have a lobby “living room” area, Internet access, meeting room space and great views of the city, much like its sister property Andaz Wall Street. The special preview rate is available for booking now on the Andaz website.