Hotel News We Noted: January 18, 2013

by McLean Robbins on

Welcome to this week’s edition of “Hotel News We Noted,” where we round up the week’s best, most interesting and just downright odd news of note in the hospitality world. Have a tip? Send us a note or leave a comment below.

Hotels to Spot the Celebs: Washington, DC’s Hottest Inaugural Lobbies
It’s officially here: Washington is celebrating its 57th Presidential Inauguration on Monday, Jan. 21. We’ve already covered how hotels are prepping for inauguration and some of our favorite over-the-top packages, but what about the best places for people watching? We’d park ourselves at the Four Seasons’ Bourbon Steak or Seasons, Adour at the St. Regis, Off the Record at The Hay Adams, the Round Robin bar at The Willard, POV or J&G at the W, Blue Duck Tavern at the Park Hyatt, the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown, Quill at The Jefferson or West End Bistro at The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, DC. Washington Post’s Reliable Source is a great place to get the scoop on who is staying where this weekend … and who isn’t coming to town (Oprah, among others).

Tech-Free Trend: Leaving the Gadgets at Home
Could you go tech-free for a week or a weekend? Marriott seems to think so. They’re testing “Braincation Zones” at hotels across the Caribbean and Mexico, ABC News reports. This encourages guests to put down devices and truly relax. The article goes on to detail other hotels that encourage tech-free policies or tech-free zones. We’re totally inclined to put down our gadgets on vacation, but think that actually removing the ability to check email or make phone calls goes a bit far … we’d like the ability to make that choice on our own, thank you very much.

Hotel News of Note: QE2 to Become a Floating Hotel In Asia
Bloomberg Businessweek is reporting that the Queen Elizabeth 2, the former cruise ship that made waves in the luxury cruise space for more than 40 years is being converted to a floating hotel and will be docked in Asia. The property will open in 2014 and may move locations at some point, possibly to Dubai. How does the idea of staying in a floating hotel sound to you?

Hotel Openings: Tropicana Las Vegas
Hilton Honors members just found their next location for a Las Vegas vacation. The DoubleTree by Hilton has invested more than $200 million to renovate the 1,500-room, 35-acre resort. In celebration, Hilton is giving away monthly chances to win one million HHonors points as well as an ultimate Vegas vacation weekend on their Facebook page.

[Image Credit: ~MVI~ (running away from parties)]

Move Over, Starbucks: Marriott Offers Workspace On Demand

by McLean Robbins on

Attempting to pierce the burgeoning flexible work and meeting space market, Marriott has launched a new program called Workspace on Demand, currently at more than 30 hotels, primarily in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco but also at select locations in Atlanta, Houston and St. Louis.

Here, workers can reserve meeting spaces, lobby seating areas and communal tables to enjoy an afternoon of meetings or a quick catch-up between colleagues.

This may be an untapped opportunity for the hotel market – Marriott is the first we’ve seen to both publicly advertise lobby space to non-guests and to charge for its use. According to research firm IDC, the number of mobile workers – those without a fixed office space – will increase to nearly 1.2 billion globally this year.

“Younger workers are changing the work dynamic. They are mobile and global, living lives untethered to the traditional work environment, and we are evolving with them,” said Paul Cahill, senior vice president, Brand Management, Marriott Hotels & Resorts in a release.

Workers can book these spaces through an app/website collaboration with LiquidSpace, which already offers flexible work spaces on a limited term basis.

We tried to book a meeting space for Washington, D.C., and found the system simple to use, if the work spaces themselves a bit sparse in selection. We could reserve a communal table for eight at the Renaissance in Dupont Circle for $38.50 per hour or $150 for a half-day. The venue was closed for today, but available for Monday, Jan. 14.

It seems like it’s worth a shot if you need a set amount of space for an important meeting, but we might just consider a flexible office space’s conference room where we’re guaranteed peace and quiet, or the option of taking our chances in the hotel lobby.

What do you think? Will you try out the service?

[Image Credit: Renaissance Dupont Circle]

LA Is Still The City Of Dreams

by Dave Seminara on

On my first night in L.A., I had pizza with a rock star and an actor. I didn’t confirm it, but the guy who handed us our slices probably has a screenplay in the pipeline. Los Angeles is still the city of dreams and dreamers.

I’m fascinated by cities people flock to in order to pursue a vocation. Writers love New York. Techies settle in the Silicon Valley. Car people need to be in Detroit. Those who are interested in politics and government go to D.C. And anyone who wants to work in the entertainment industry moves to L.A.

Every city also has accountants, police officers, teachers and the rest, but L.A. wouldn’t be the same without the swarms of people who moved there in the hopes of becoming famous. If you live in a city that’s saturated with people who’ve all moved there for roughly the same reason, I can see how it would be a bit annoying. I’ve lived in D.C. three separate times and never warmed to the place in part because it’s a transient city filled with hyper-achieving, my child is going to speak Chinese better than your child, type A personalities.


But while living among the aspiring and working actors, directors and musicians in L.A. might get old, I never get tired of visiting the place. On the first night of my recent trip, my wife and I fell into conversation with a guy who had movie star good looks while waiting for slices of a pizza in a restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. I don’t watch enough Hollywood movies and T.V. to know if he was famous, but he looked the part. But then again, there are all kinds of beautiful people in L.A. and only a fraction of them are famous, the rest wait tables, take off their clothes in strip joints and do 1,000 other things to pay the rent while keeping their dreams of stardom simmering.

I couldn’t bring myself to ask him, “hey, are you on TV?” because I didn’t want to be too much of a rank tourist. We went outside with our slices and sat at a table next to a guy with a big mop of curly blonde hair and two slices of pizza. He had a guitar on his lap and I couldn’t help but ask him what band he was in.

“We’re called the Mowgli’s,” he said.

The name meant nothing to me but immediately resonated with my little boys, who are fans of “The Jungle Book.” The young man told me his name was Michael Vincze and, while I naively assumed that he was just an eccentric dreamer that liked to walk around L.A. with a guitar, he casually mentioned that they’d recently played at the House of Blues in Chicago and on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

In many ways, emerging artists like the Mowglis are forced to be consummate travelers. Vincze told us that his band had crisscrossed the country in a van several times, playing gigs in towns and cities all across the fruited plane.

Later that evening, I rode an elevator at my hotel with a strikingly attractive black woman and thought, she’s probably famous or soon will be, and later found out I was right. It was the British R & B singer Laura Mvula.

Of course, if you’re serious about stalking the mega-stars while in L.A., the real household names, there are a number of websites that list their home addresses, where they eat, pray, shop, etc. I have little interest in celebrity stalking, but I love to simply drive around L.A. and marvel at all the ridiculously expensive cars.

I saw more Rolls Royces, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Maseratis in four days in L.A. than I’d see driving around Chicago, my adopted hometown, in a lifetime. These kinds of cars would be considered ostentatious in most corners of the planet but in L.A., hardly anyone seems to bat an eyelash.

On our last day in L.A., I was reminded what I like most about the city after reading a beautiful, heartbreaking story in the Los Angeles Times about Seth Burnham, a struggling “Mid 30s-ish, early 40s-ish” actor who moved to L.A. to pursue his dream and, like many, hasn’t made it but keeps hope alive. The story is part of a series called Chasing the Dream that neatly encapsulates how hard it is to make it in the entertainment business.

As a traveler, I like to be in a place that’s filled with dreamers like Seth Burnham. D.C. is filled with practical, serious career climbers, the kind of people who pay obsessive attention to their 401k portfolios and have panic attacks if they go more than 3,000 miles without an oil change.

But L.A. is chockfull of impractical people following dreams, people who carry their guitars around with them, waiting for inspiration to strike, people who, if given a million dollars, would rush right out and spend it on a Rolls Royce, people who, when you ask them how old they are, respond: “Mid 30s-ish to early 40s-ish.” L.A. doesn’t get much love from travel writers but there is no better place in the country to rub shoulders with fun, idealistic people who are this close to making it big.

[Photo credit: Frankenmedia on Flickr]

Roman Coppola And W Hotels Release Four Travel-Inspired Films

by Libby Zay on

With the help of filmmaker Roman Coppola, son of director Francis Ford Coppola, W Hotels and Intel recently held a travel-inspired screenplay competition. Out of more than 1,000 online entries, four scripts were chosen by Coppola, who then used his production company, The Directors Bureau, to match the winning scripts with emerging directors and actors.

The result are the short films below, each of which takes place at a W Hotel around the world: in Doha, Qatar; Mexico City, Mexico; Washington, DC; and the Maldives. The only other stipulation for screenwriters was that the films had to feature an Intel Ultrabook – kind of like the secret ingredient in an Iron Chef competition. The results are quirky, touching, and sometimes eerie, but most of all great ways to inspire travel and help emerging talent get their feet off the ground.


Modern/Love: Two 20-somethings take the next step in their long-distance cyber romance, meeting in person for the first time during an exotic vacation in Doha, Qatar. Will their tech-enabled feelings hold true in real life?
Screenplay by Amy Jacobowitz
Directed by Lee Toland Krieger
Featuring Robert Schwartzman and Naomi Scott

¡El Tonto!: A socially challenged vacationer in Mexico City, Mexico, strikes up an unlikely friendship with one of the country’s best-known luchadores.
Screenplay by Ben Sayeg
Directed by Lake Bell
Featuring Kyle Mooney and Kyle Mooney


Eugene: A traveler in Washington, DC, gets a mysterious gift: an Ultrabook that grants all his wishes. How will he wield his unexpected powers?
Screenplay by Adam Blampied
Directed by Spencer Susser
Featuring Michael Govier and Karolina Wydra


The Mirror Between Us: Two young women embark on a dream-like adventure through the islands of the Maldives after an event turned both their worlds upside down.
Screenplay by Nicole Beharie
Directed by Kahlil Joseph
Featuring Dan’ee Doty

How Washington’s Hotels Are Readying For Inauguration: Our Favorite Luxury Packages

by McLean Robbins on

Election day has come and passed, but hotels in Washington are still racing the clock to ready their hotels for inauguration on January 20. We reported earlier on what hotels in the area are doing to freshen up, but now we’re telling you which properties are going to go all out with posh packages for guests.

Here are a few of our favorites, ranked in order of price.

Putting on the Ritz (Carlton)
The Ritz-Carlton Washington, DC is offering an exclusive “Access Washington” package for high-rolling guests. The $100,000 price tag includes four nights in a luxury suite, round-trip first class domestic airfare for two, a private fitting for designer inaugural wear, special behind-the-scenes tours, a cupcake decorating class from cult favorite shop Georgetown Cupcake, a one-of-a-kind diamond and ruby pin from jeweler Ann Hand, gifts each night and a special dinner, the value of which will be donated to a local charity.

More Than a Fair Deal
No expense will be spared for the Fairmont’s “President and First Lady” during their visit to Fairmont Washington, DC for inauguration. This package also tops the price list at $100,000, but includes a fair-ly awesome array of amenities, including four nights in the Presidential Suite, Fairmont Gold floor access, and two “Presidential Detail Agents” to assist and consult with guests throughout their stay. Other perks include use of a 7 series BMW with driver, a $5,000 Shopping Spree at SAKS Fifth Avenue in Chevy Chase with personal shopper, champagne, and lunch, a visit to “First Ladies Exhibit at The Smithsonian,” daily in-room breakfast, in-room hair styling, a private makeup consult and application, a midnight buffet for up to 20 after any inaugural balls, and matching Rolex watches for the “President” and “First Lady.” The completely pet-friendly package also includes perks for the “first dog” if you’d like to bring along Fido or Fifi.

P.O.T.U.S Worthy Pampering
The Mandarin Oriental’s “P.O.T.U.S.” (Presiding Over The Ultimate Suite) Package ($15,000 per night) features four nights in the three-bedroom Presidential Suite, the largest suite in the city. In addition to panoramic views, guests will enjoy 24/7 butler service, house car use, a keepsake amenity, and the option to host a private dinner at CityZen, the city’s only AAA five-star restaurant, for up to 80 people.Getting Glam at the Park Hyatt
Stay in style for the weekend of inauguration at the Park Hyatt Washington, DC. The $57,000, four-night package includes four nights in the hotel’s presidential suite, daily turn-down amenities, chauffeur-driven, round-trip, airport transfers and daily sedan transportation, a private Kennedy Center tour, spa treatments, a handcrafted American rocking chair and much more. To add a fashionable element to the package, guests will enjoy a custom styling session from Saks Fifth Avenue to include clothing for the entirety of their stay as well as to personalize the room itself with a variety of home goods. Guests will also enjoy a cheese tasting party for 12 from the hotel’s cheese specialist, including wine and selected accompaniments. All meals are included for the duration of the stay, including a private chef’s table in Blue Duck Tavern for up to 12 one evening and daily in-room or restaurant breakfasts. A donation will also be made on behalf of the guest to the U.S.O.

Go A-List at AKA
Also honoring the 57th inaugural with a $57,000 package is AKA Washington DC. The over-the-top package includes occupying the entire penthouse floor with a seven-night stay in two, one-bedroom suites and two, two-bedroom suites (total occupancy of 12 people), which comes with 1,100 square-feet of outdoor terrace space to enjoy memorable views. Guests also enjoy a 24/7 on-call butler and driver, a two-hour cocktail party for up to 25 with open bar and appetizers, a fully stocked fridge and welcome grocery package, 12 robes and daily breakfast served en-suite for up to 12 people.

Presidential Style at The Jefferson
This intimate 99-room hotel is just four blocks from the White house. During the week of inauguration, The Jefferson is offering a four-night minimum stay ($950-$8,500 per night) that includes daily breakfast for two, an on-call concierge assistant, access to the Neiman Marcus satellite store in the St. Regis for evening gowns and suits and gifts including a silk and cashmere scarf, sea salt caramels and a large graphite writing quill.

[Image Credit: Mandarin Oriental Washington DC Presidential Suite Dining Room]