Non-NonRev

To be effective May 29th as reported in Joe Brancatelli's Tactical Traveller column (May 16-23)

http://www.tacticaltraveler.com

rfrost

Interesting...we stayed there in March, and I thought it was generally well-managed. They seem to have been offering a number of promotions, so maybe occupancy was the issue.

tofromord

Fabulous property. Also has among the best cigar selections (including both current and pre-Castro cubans - $$) in London.

TF

jetsethotel

How does the property compare to the existing Starwood complements in London (ie. Park Lane, Sheraton Park Tower, and Belgravia)? Is there any difference?

Does this or will it live up to the St. Regis reputation?

The location seems a bit far from the night life of the West End/Covent Gdn area.

BIL_Flyer

This is better than any current Starwood Property in London. It is definately of St. Regis quality. It is considered one of the top 5 hotels in London by almost everyone's ranking.

alexwuk

Have a look in Montes (on Sloane Street) next time you're in London. Excellent club; and the cigar shop has the sort of humidor you can only dream of ever owning

I find in London some Cigar Shops (The most guilty ones tend to be in St. James) are reluctant to let you pick your cigars from the box. Given the problem with plugging at the moment, I really object to the that.

Looking forward to getting Starpoints for my Cigar purchases though

Regards,
Alex

Non-NonRev

The Lanesborough site gives some info on the hotel:

http://www.lanesborough.com

I assume that the L *will* participate in SPG ?????

jja34-1

Wow...I can't believe this. The Lanesborough is by far and away (IMHO) the BEST hotel in London. It already has private butlers, an amazing location, and fantastic appointments in the rooms.

I was going to stay at the Belgravia Sheraton or Claridge's before I move into my apartment in London this fall, but now I think I will be checking into the Lanesborough.

This is a fantastic coup for Starwood!

Non-NonRev

I guess the acquisition makes sense in the context of this report from last summer:

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. / Aug. 10, 2001--Barry S. Sternlicht, Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., announced today that Atef Mankarios, former Chairman and CEO of Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, has joined Starwood as President of St. Regis. Mankarios, most recently CEO of Foresthills Hotels & Resorts, will lead a newly created St. Regis division that is charged with aggressively growing the ultra-luxury brand through conversions of existing hotels; acquisitions; and management contracts. Mankarios will report to Bob Cotter, Starwood's Chief Operating Officer

PHL

This hotel is on the Gold List, but among those 56 Starwood properties since it made the list before converting to St. Regis.

I called the Plat. Concierge to see if I could book it with 1/2 points. I was told that, while it is under the St. Regis name now, it is not participating in the SPG program. I am not to confident they will even honor the Plat. benefits if I were to check-in.

Why would any of us want to stay there if they don't recognize SPG benefits??

William - please advise us on this property. Is this just temporary while they convert over? I'm going to London in a month and would love to check it out, but not if they are denying any recognition of SPG loyalty.

Andrew14302

I think the generally feeling on this board is that any hotel that is not willing to abide by the SPG program and benefits is a hotel worth avoiding. The fact that this is a St Regis would make it all the more appalling.

While I have seen a handful of Hilton hotels decide not to particiapte in the program, this is the first SPG that I have heard of.

BoSoxFan45

William mentioned it here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum74/HTML/004031.html

PHL actually beat me to the punch- I was going to start a separate thread, because I fear this may be a significant development.

Previously, to the best of my knowledge, and please correct me if I am wrong, the only hotel bearing a Starwood brand name that did not participate in SPG was the Sheraton Karachi. (This does not include Starwood VO properties- which are not hotels, but different entities altogether). William had insinuated that there may be legal reasons for that hotel's non-participation. Not being licensed in Pakistan , I am in zero position to refute that.

Nor, to the best of my knowledge, are there hotels under any of the other main brands (Hilton, Hyatt, etc.) that are allowed to simply opt out of participating in their parent company's (or franchisor's) frequent guest program. (I am not forgetting about Marriott owned RC, whose properties/brand have never participated in a frequent guest program).

This makes the Lanesborough a unfortunate trailblazer.

I don't know why the Lanesbourough decided not to participate in SPG, and I don't know why Starwood would allow them to fly the St. Regis flag without participating. My guess is that it wasn't an issue with awarding points, etc, but rather with the reimbursement rate for redemptions, and the complimentary upgrade issue that has been so hashed through here.

My concern is this:

There are obviously some hotels that are pretty reluctant to comply with the terms, let alone the spirit, of the SPG program, particularly when it comes to elite benefits. Their motivation for this is anyone's guess, but "we don't feel like it" I one that I think is not too uncommon. If one hotel is allowed not to participate, then what's to stop several other franchised properties from raising that issue when it comes time to renegotiate their franchise agreement. Or worse yet, what's to stop any hotel from simply stating that "You don't make the Lanseborough participate, why should we have to. We'll give and take points, but we're not going to give away our best rooms to people who stay 40 nights a year in the Four Points in Bumblesnot, OK and then redeem points to stay here."

Obviously, most hotels are not the Lanseborough, but it's obviously not a make or break issue for Starwood anymore.

This leads me to believe that SPG may be viewed by some as less important to Starwood's overall health than in the past.

mtacchi

I agree, it's a crack in the dam that could lead to an all out deluge of properties defecting. Property's already known for flaunting a disregard for the T&C of the program will grow tired of complaints from corporate services and just leave the program.

I find it curious that last year, The St.Regis NYC didn't particpate in free weekends and now this year, no St. Regis property does. When one sees they can aviod SPG , others follow.

Eugene

Not quite. Other non-participating properties include The Westin Camino Real Tikhal, the Sheraton Lagos Hotel & Towers, the Sheraton Catania Hotel, the Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel & Towers, and the Sheraton Dammam Hotel & Towers. For more information see Starwood Lurker's thread An Addition to the Non-Participating Properties List.

mtacchi

I think the difference is those properties that don't participate in SPG, never have. They opted out in the begining. Any new property joining the program should be mandated to it.