NEW YORK— The Westin New York at Times Square is focusing on family with two special promotions. For expectant parents, the hotel’s Baby Naming Weekend is designed to help couples relax and choose a name for their new arrival while the Desperate Housedads package caters to stay-at-home fathers who need a bit of a break. While the hotel does offer the brand-wide guest packages developed by Westin— which is part of the Starwood family of brands— it also has the freedom to offer its own promotions, according to Karen Colliton-Thomson, director of sales and marketing at the property. “Westin continually comes out with specific packages but we also have the latitude to create our own.” When determining what will work best, the hotel’s marketing team and public relations firm examines “what will attract interest…it’s a creative process.” Colliton-Thomson noted the Westin New York also takes its one-of-a-kind locale into consideration. “Because we’re right in Times Square, we’re an exciting hotel and our guests want the latest and greatest and a new reason to come to New York,” she said, adding that most of the promotions are for the weekend in an effort to drive leisure business since about 75% of the 863-room hotel’s guest population are business travelers. “We rotate the list [of packages]to keep them fresh and most are offered from Thursday to Sunday when we need that push in business.” The inspiration for the Baby Naming Weekend was a map the hotel came across that listed the most popular baby names for different New York City neighborhoods. “We were laughing over the map and it developed into an idea,” said Colliton-Thomson. The Westin New York at Times Square decided to capitalize on the recent popularity of parents-to-be going on “Babymoons” and formulated a promotion centered around choosing baby names. “It’s a new trend— couples having a getaway before the baby is born. It’s sort of a last hurrah. We thought it would be a fun thing to offer,” she said. Couples taking advantage of the Westin New York’s Baby Naming Weekend will receive accommodations in one of the hotel’s spa-inspired guest rooms. Inside the room, they will be provided with the map including popular NYC baby names upon which the promotion was based. “It’s also a great map of NYC neighborhoods if couples want to go out walking,” said Colliton-Thomson. Also included as part of the promotion is a $100 gift certificate to one of Manhattan’s most famous jewelry stores so couples can purchase a gift for their little one on the way. After a long day of exploring Manhattan, the mother-to-be can relax in a massage chair that is provided in the guestroom. “It’s great for them to be able to put their feet up and relax,” she said. “We also have yoga tapes and other relaxation tools in the rooms. It’s a nice place to unwind.” The Baby Naming weekend promotion will run through the end of the year. The hotel is offering its Desperate Housedads package through Aug. 30. “We wanted to do something for Father’s Day, but didn’t want to limit it to just that weekend. We wanted to offer tired dads a chance to get away for a night,” she said. The Desperate Housedads package includes a “Masculine Massage” at the spa located within the hotel to help stressed fathers relax. “We wanted them to be able to get a little pampering,” said Colliton-Thomson. After their trip to the spa, guests are treated to steak dinner at Shula’s Steakhouse, also located at the Westin New York. As a bonus, the promotion also includes a set of grilling tools so rejuvenated fathers can recreate their steak dinner at home. A phone call to check in with the family back at home is also included. Colliton-Thomson reported that both promotions have received a good response and noted the hotel may consider extending them should they continue be well received. “They create a buzz and are a tool to drive business…guests will hopefully return for one of our other promotions,” she said”
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