Name the Sheraton Kiosk Contest
 

Within the Sheraton brand, there is a contest being conducted to name the new Sheraton kiosk check-in and check out kiosk that will be launched soon. As an added bonus to our Flyer Talk members, we are allowing you - as registered users at Flyertalk and as Starwood Preferred Guests - to also participate in this contest to name the Sheraton kiosk. The winner will receive enough Starpoints to stay at any SPG participating Sheraton property worldwide for a week.

To enter the contest, send an email to me at the [email protected] email address with the following information:

1) Your Starwood Preferred Guest account number
2) Your suggested name for the kiosk

Enter as many times as you would like.

Please note, you can post your entry to Flyer Talk if you wish; however, the only way to be officially entered in the contest is to send me an email with the information requested above. I will be accepting entries from now until Friday, March 19th until 4:00 PM CST (US). The winner will be announced by March 31st.

To help with your naming the Sheraton kiosk, here is some background information regarding this upcoming feature soon to be released at a Starwood property near you:

This is a kiosk that we created to allow guests to check in and out of the hotel in under 45 seconds. It is an alternative for our guests in case there is a line at the front desk. The kiosk also gives guests a choice - including automated upgrades when available for our SPG Platinum's. The kiosk can recognize Platinum members from their account number being on the reservation. The kiosk also allows guests the opportunity to select their room based on room descriptions in addition to changing rooms at check in, subject to availability. You can also get your hotel bill via email upon check out.

Best of luck to everyone who enters!

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

[This message has been edited by Starwood Lurker (edited Mar 18, 2004).]

I think William would be a most appropriate name for the new kiosk. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

That was actually in the email I just sent Lurker... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Fortunately for me, that wasn't my only suggestion. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Comet. It's fast. And it's related to stars.

William, thanks for allowing us to participate in the naming. If the kiosk would let us see info about truly available inventory, and tap that inventory as a Plat. for eligible upgrades, the way some airline kiosks allow us to see available seats, it might actually encourage Plat. use as a win-win alternative to a long upgrade dance with the live agent and/or agent's supervisor.

my only concern would be if these kiosks are programmed by spg.com's web guru. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

This feature will be targeted. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Here is again my usual question if the introduction is planned to be worldwide: I've read that ArabellaSheraton is about to introduce Kiosks in their hotels. According to the article, ArabellaSheraton Grand in Munich has such a kiosk since the beginning of 2004. IMO, it'd be quite bad if there will be different kiosks available in future without a common standard/look-and-feel.


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Pictures from hotel stays
Basic Hotel stays/nights/points calculator
Short overview: KLM FD, LH M&M

William,

Here is where I see a potential problem with the kiosk providing honest upgrades:

What happens when a room is available (in the sense that it is for sale on spg.com and other outlets) but it is technically "not ready" due to housecleaning not reporting it as ready for a new guest.

Having experienced just this sort of scam at a Starwood property last month, I imagine the kiosk would make it even easier - "No junior suites available . . .check the kiosk if you don't believe me."

I can imagine some hotels will start a policy of having Housekeeping never return suites to official inventory, instead having some sort of backchannel method of indicating the room is available.

Will the kiosk be able to give info about rooms available pending a delay for housekeeping to clean the room?

there is always going to be a way for hotels that don't like to upgrade to withhold rooms. i don't see the kiosk impacting that.

Ae there entry limitations? One per account or is it unlimited?
John

Originally posted by FCTSTY:
“my only concern would be if these kiosks are programmed spg.com’s web guru.” http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

I hope they can program in some of the check in experience that I have had with Starwood. Maybe they could make it come up randomly. One time it could be surly, another excellent. Some of the others could be:
Rude
Friendly
Trainee
Indifferent
Efficient
Perfect

Lurker can you assure me that you are not collecting the SPG#’s and flyertalk handles of the entries for any other reason than to determine a winner of your contest? Are there T&C's? Who is picking the winner?

he didn't ask for the flyertalk handle.

Lurker:
"we are allowing you - as registered users at Flyertalk and as Starwood Preferred Guests - to also participate in this contest to name the Sheraton kiosk."

Is there some other way for him to determine if I am a registered user of Flyertalk? Or is this open to anyone that reads Flyertalk?

There is an easy way for the immensely paranoid to avoid any perception of impropriety by me: don't enter the contest. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Other than that, if you only send me your account number and your suggested name, how am I going to know what your Flyertalk user id is and match it to that information. Think about it. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Edited to add: I nor anyone else at Starwood cares if you are a registered user at Flyertalk or not. If you are a lurker and want to enter, there is no way for me to know.

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

[This message has been edited by Starwood Lurker (edited Mar 18, 2004).]

One more note: this thread was created to announce a contest and nothing more. Feel free to discuss the merits of the kiosk once it is up and running - wherever that may be. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Starwood Lurker:

in and out in under 45 seconds


In this case that's a good thing.

ok ok....back to the corner....deleting starpoints from my account for bad behavior...

As for my pick for the kiosk....getting out that little black book to check for the most appropriate name....

Lurker,
Thank you for editing your post to provide a direct answer to my question. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif It seems the contest is open to anyone who happens to see this thread and is a SPG member.
Let me rephrase my other questions and perhaps you can take the time to answer them. Is this an official Starwood contest? If so, are the rules posted anywhere I can access them?
Also, I prefer careful to paranoid http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif
My questions were not meant to imply indecorous conduct on your part, maybe you were just being 'careful' with your response. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Maybe because is REALLY similar to my FT handle? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redface.gif


btw, I am soooooooo not paranoid. I don't care if people ARE following me. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Not trying to be silly, but what does it mean to name the kiosk? Do the Delta (or other airlines) have names for their kiosks? I guess I'm looking for examples that are already being used. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Marketing...

One example I'd like to see is:

"Check-in with the new [insert name here] kiosk at a participating SPG property & get 1000 bonus points!"

and in the terms & conditions, I'd like to see: 1000 point bonus valid per room booked & can be earned unlimited times.

It would change mattress runs for ever! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Sorry, I don't remember naming anyone when I said "the immensely paranoid" could skip the contest. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

This is a contest that is being run for Sheraton employees - people employed by the Sheraton brand wherever they may be. The winner, if it is one of these employees will win a Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed.

The person running the contest thought it would be nice to solicit member feedback as well. Justin the Intern approved it and the prize and voila - here it is.

So, no, it is not an official Starwood promotion and there are no Terms and Conditions other than the ones I posted in the first post. Note on that: I had to change the cutoff time to 4 PM on Friday. Our email server is being dismantled at 5 PM on that day and I will not get any emails until it is brought back up.

Best of luck to everyone who has entered thus far. You guys are very talented.

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

There's one of these kiosks up and running at the Sheraton Boston, and it promises 500 points/checkin!

A current flaw is that if the hotel already upgrades you in advance to a better room than originally booked, the check in process cannot be completed.

But these bugs are being worked out.

uh oh. is the web guru involved in this one? we may never get emails to william. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

I was musing about how many points that actually is...

First I thought that there weren't any Sheratons above Category 4, and so it would be 10,000 points x 7 = 70,000.

But then I realized that there'd be a '5th night free' in there, and so it would only be 60,000 nights.

But wait! There are 2 Sheratons that are category 5.

So, it's either 12k/night (x 6 = 72,000 points) or 16k/night for peak season (x 6 = 96,000 points).

Well, I'll settle for either thanks! But my ideas probably weren't very good.

I hope this kiosk works a little better than the United Mr. Easy Check-in (who crashes when I use it most of the time.)

A few questions:

*Will we get bonus Starpoints if we use the kiosk.

*If a flyertalker gets the winning name will that person get bonus Starpoints? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

William, Mr. Lurker, thank you for allowing us to enter this contest with a generous prize.

I have sent you entries and hope to win.

William,
Thanks for bringing the contest to our attention.
Questions though: You mentioned that we can enter as many times as we wish. Is it okay to use only one email to make multiple sugggestions for the kiosk names, or do we have to use seperate emails for each individual name we've suggested. And I'd hope it's open to those of us living outside the U.S. also, as many Starwood contests seem to be only limited to U.S. residents.

Thanks again,

bj-21.

Thanks, Lurker - as for all the doubters, well I'm happy to earn the reward for entering. In fact if they don't enter, I'll have "a little" more chance.

Do even us poor Aussie SPG'ers get to enter and win - wow, that hardly ever happens http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Given that there are no T&C for this one, I think the answer is that you may do as you wish! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

As Lurker has already said, you are not being compelled to enter the contest.

Sheesh! I'm sorry, but it's resposnes like these that I can understand why *wood is hesitant to open things up to FTers. . .why do things need to become complicated? The intent as I read it was to have some FUN! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

I totally agree. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif And it is community gestures like this, that I feel would draw regular customers closer to the brand and further develop the sense of loyalty to *wood and to think of the relationship between *wood and yourself as "We" rather than as "Them & Us" all the time. Excellent strategy IMHO. Keep it up!!

Sorry that you feel that way, ldsant. I wouldn't want to comprise your Flyertalk experience in any way. I asked a few questions:
Is the information going to be used in any other way and if there were rules. I can have a lot more fun with a contest if I know the rules (that is just me) and a simple yes or no to my questions would have sufficed for me.
Again sorry if you feel that is a way to ruin Starwood's relationship with Flyertalk.

I would love to hear some of the entry suggestions, I am sure there were some great ones. Please post your entries for our entertainment when the closing time passes!

"Justin Time"

SELECT CHECK OR SELECT CHECK IN

SELECT= Sheraton Electonic
Check in

Starwood Fasttrack

We have a winner!!!

LIH Prem submits:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

My two entries were "BYPASS" OR "STARPASS" although the contest's timing (sooo close to St. Patty's Day) might have affected my thought process. I was working with fewer brain cells. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

There's a reason I'm not in marketing -- and my ideas show it -- but as emailed to William on Wednesday