Starwood makes checking in a social affair

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Starwood Preferred Guest, the rewards program for such brands as Sheraton and Westin, just took “checking in” from the front desk to the iPhone, BlackBerry and Android. The hotel company is launching a new program with social media company foursquare to increase member benefits.

According to foursquare’s blog, this partnership is “the first truly global loyalty integration of its kind,” an appropriate statement for a corporate blog, of course. Here’s the upside for you: when you check in (on foursquare) while checking in (at a Starwood), you can pick up more points, get free nights and win contests.

In the past, foursquare has worked with Heineken, American Express and others, but this appears to be its first foray into travel, a natural fit for a company that has built its business around location.

Best Western produces indie film series

by Grant Martin on

Best Western just commissioned a series of indie films telling the story of some of their properties and the people who run them. While not the most altruistic of stories (of course they’re going to paint a good portrait of the brand), it’s an interesting experiment in indie film making for a large scale hotel chain, and the stories seem well thought out and composed. Now all they need is the momentum that the BMW Films gained (and perhaps the employ of Clive Owen) and they’ll be hits. You can see the rest of the series over on their site.

Lesbian couple sues hotel after being denied double room

by Sean McLachlan on

A lesbian couple is suing a hotel in England after being refused a double room.

Rebecca Nash and Hope Stubbings say they tried to check into the Brunswick Square Hotel in Brighton but were refused a room because the hotel only gives rooms to couples.

This is surprising for a number of reasons. First, it’s illegal in the UK for hotels to refuse rooms to gay and lesbian couples. Second, Brighton is England’s most popular gay and lesbian seaside town and surely the Brunswick Square Hotel has had to deal with gay guests before. And third, a court fined a bed and breakfast for refusing a room to a gay couple earlier this year.

In the earlier case, the hotel owners were defiant, saying homosexuality was against their Christian principles. In the Brighton case, it’s a matter of “he said, she said.” The manager says the couple hadn’t made a booking. The lesbian couple said the manager got angry and told them “no two boys, no two girls” in the rooms before kicking them out.

[Lesbian flag image courtesy Wikimedia Commons]

CheckYourRoom.com launches hotel personality quiz

by Melanie Nayer on

You’re probably used to booking a hotel room based on price, distance from the city center or local landmarks. You likely look at room size, what amenities are offered and whether or not there are any upgrades or promotions available. But, what if you could take that booking process one step further and add a bit of “you” into your hotel search? That’s the latest premise behind CheckYourRoom.com’s new booking tool, “What Room Are You?”

CheckYourRoom.com, a Paris-based travel startup that launched in beta earlier this year, wants to give travelers the opportunity to book a specific luxury or boutique hotel room with all the essentials like price and location, but throw ina little human touch, too. The recently launched quiz “What Room Are You?” on the booking site takes travelers through a series of lifestyle-related questions, then recommends hotels around the world based on their preferences.

Intrigued, I got a sneak peak of the new quiz and took the personality test for a spin.
The first question asks about food preference. I chose “Italian Classics” and moved along to question number two, which asked about my fashion style. I was able to quickly rule out options (a) and (c) (Preppy Classics and Bohemian Chic), and for the sake of this quiz went with “Ultimate Fashionista”, just to see where it would take me (and because some days I think I’m quite fashionable). The next series of questions asked me choose my favorite artist and then my favorite hero, from a list of four people. I was asked like I do on a Friday night (go out for drinks), what type of music I listen to (pop/rock) and what dream car I would drive (a Bentley).

After answering all seven questions, I was returned a list of nine hotels from London to Nice that fit my profile, but more importantly, stayed within my budget range.

Taking the quiz doesn’t allow you to enter in specific information like destination or distance from tourist attractions, however, the site does offer a basic booking engine where you can add in your requirements. There’s also the Room Concierge, a personalized room recommendation service that collects your individual hotel and room requests and returns results based on your information.

The “What Room Are You?” personality test is by no means a scientific way of determining what hotel you’re best suited for, but for those travelers who aren’t married to fixed price or destination, it’s a nice way to introduce new places to an upcoming trip.

As for me? I learned that while my luxury travel preferences haven’t changed much over the years, my personality test revealed I was the “romantic” type (the site will tag as one of four personalities: romantic, adventurous, classic or modern). As a “romantic” type, I like my hotel rooms to “feel cozy and warm – like a home away from home.” Not a bad assessment, especially since the majority of the hotels the site recommended to me were in Paris.

While this might not be the end-all for travel search engines, it’s a nice change of pace from the booking engines of price, location, and date.

Readers: What do you think? Would you book a room based on a personality quiz?

Luxury hotel offers rooms to victims of Japan disaster

by Melanie Nayer on

As the world watches in disbelief while Japan is continuously rocked by earthquakes and aftershocks, business and organizations have popped up everywhere hosting benefits, donation opportunities and volunteer services to help the victims of the Japan disaster. In Tokyo, one luxury hotel is offering relief for displaced Japan residents.

The Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka was scheduled to close its doors to new business this March, but the luxury hotel is staying open for a good cause. The hotel, which once housed heads of state and celebrities from around the world, will turn into a shelter for victims of the Japan earthquakes, tsunami and nuclear disasters that have left many homeless.

According to Economic Times, the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka, which at one point charged guests an average of $1,750 a night, will offer free rooms for up to 360 guests. In addition, guests can purchase three meals a day for less than $10 a day.

While the chance to sleep on a futon at a five-star hotel might be short-lived for these guests (the hotel is scheduled for demolition in July), it’s at least a few nights of peace and comfort for those who don’t have a next step.

“I’m feeling anxious as I don’t know what’ll happen in the future but I feel grateful that I can sleep on a futon,” evacuee Shoichi Ono from one Fukushima plant told the Economic Times.

While the number of victims from the Japan disasters continues to climb, more companies are reaching out with ways to support and help the tens of thousands of Japanese citizens who need shelter and relief. Cell phone companies are allowing free calls to Japan, and we found this list of non-profit companies where you can make donations or volunteer time.