My name is Jennifer Buhr and I am the General Manager of the Sheraton Lisbon Hotel and Towers in Lisbon, Portugal. We are in the process of improving our services for our Towers customers (Executive/Club rooms) and as a result I would like to ask your opinion on the following:

* What would make you book my Hotel as opposed to another Hotel with a Towers concept in the same city (ofcourse)?
* What services represent to you value for money? What do you feel justifies the premium one has to pay for a Tower room?
* What additional services would you expect from a Tower concept.
* What would make you say "WOW" I shall be back again?
* What additional recognition do you expect as a Starwood Preferred guest?

Any other comments would also be highly appreciated.

Sincerely

Jennifer Buhr

High quality bedding makes a huge difference for me. If you have an excellent quality mattress, possibly a feather bed on top, a down duvet, good quality down pillows, and high thread count sheets, it would be heavenly to sleep. Don't forget to have good room darkening shades. I hate it when the curtains or shades do not block out all the sunlight. In the morning, the sun coming in through the cracks can be like a laser beam. Attention to detail in these areas would make me a repeat customer, heck, you'd quickly become my favorite hotel in the world. Many hotels have fancy rooms, with a lot of space and nice amenities, but they don't focus on having a good quality bed. What good is a fancy huge room if the bed stinks and you can't get a good night's sleep. Granted a huge room and good amenities are nice to have too, but for me, the bedding would make the most difference.

Hope that helps.

PS. I'm glad to see you are taking the time to get input so that you create a fabulous hotel.

Hi Jennifer, and welcome-

* What would make you book my Hotel as opposed to another Hotel with a Towers concept in the same city (ofcourse)?
I would definitely book your Towers if I had elite status with only Sheraton for the upgrade to Tower. If I was (and I am a Hilton Gold+ and Marriott Plat) and had no status with Sheraton I would not even look at the Sheraton unless there was a conference there in which I was attending. Additionally , all things being equal, I would stay there if good reviews were posted here, flyertalk, in the Sheraton forum. Also if there was a mileage or price special, I would look there 1st. Finally if your hotel was the only place to which I had easy access to my reason for being in Lisbon.

* What services represent to you value for money? What do you feel justifies the premium one has to pay for a Tower room?
Services related to making the guest feel special. Again, seen in elite status situations such as a bottle of wine in the room, calling the room after we check in making sure all was well. Concierge floor situations, such as the cocktail lounge, free breakfast, access to tough to find goings on around town. Things related to 4-5* concierge services.
* What additional services would you expect from a Tower concept.
See above. Mileage and/or package specials. Spa type services and discounts as well.
* What would make you say "WOW" I shall be back again?
Quality of the bed, quality of the room, quality of the breakfast and cocktail lounge (on the Tower floor). Easy checkout. Service and quality items. I have stayed 42 weeks in a row at the same hotel due to a great price, excellent service, and a great staff (remembering my name after 2nd day, asking how family was, offering to include in various situations that made me feel as if I had an extended family). Not expensive items, just extra effort, and good product related things that we may consider the norm. Down pillows, a call once per stay to offer any extra service, tips on the city, etc...(and obviously good housekeeping staff, standard service things that can never slip) I'm sure others can more creative but this is my list of items. Good luck!
* What additional recognition do you expect as a Starwood Preferred guest?

I would like a desk that has (a) adequate space for work; (b) adequate natural light in the daytime; (c) adequate artificial light; (d) two easily reached electrical outlets not already used by something else such as a lamp or radio; and (e) an easily reached phone jack for a laptop.

Many rooms have two or three of these. I don't think I've ever had all five in the same place.

I suggest you not waste money on extra-large rooms. Beyond having enough room to walk around comfortably despite having an open suitcase or two, it's pointless (at least to me). But then again, I drive a BMW 3-series by choice and wouldn't swap it for a larger one, so there you go.

Hello Jeniffer and welcome:

As a Road Warrior, hotels have become my second home. I spend just about the same amount of time in hotels as I do at home.

I very much enjoy the Starwood properties I patronize, particularly in Chihuahua, Mexico; Whistler, Canada and Brazil. As an SPG Gold I receive very cordial treatment, but have never been upgraded to a Towers Floor.

I agree with hhonorman about the beds, pillows and draperies. Travelling involves a lot of stresses and long days. Quality sleep is essential for productivity and energy. Unfortunately, most hotels I visit have beds that do not provide the best comfort, so this is an area to improve.

In general, recognition, attention to detail and tech advances top my list.

Hope it helps.

Lhe desejo muito bom sucesso!!!!!

keep the lounge open a long time,
allow all SPG Platinum guests to enter regardsless of their room,
free drinks in the evening, decent food during midday,
waiter service or a strict warden is not necessary. I can help myself and actually prefer to do so by mixing my drinks myself...

Great, that you ask here! Thanks!

* What would make you book my Hotel as opposed to another Hotel with a Towers concept in the same city (ofcourse)?

The value I receive for the money I pay. For example - Last time I had to stay over in New York I was at the Waldrof because the other Hiltons in the area were full. They had some promotion for breakfast included at some incredibly low rate, when we got there they had given us a giant suite, a bottle of wine was waiting in the room, a plate of cheese and fruit, etc. They probably lost money on the deal, but because of that upgrade when I stay in the city now I look there first.

* What services represent to you value for money? What do you feel justifies the premium one has to pay for a Tower room?

For short stays where I'm just there one night I don't think it's justified. If it's a couple of days then pretty much what everybody else has said, a decent work area, really good bedding, quiet air conditioning or heating, etc.

* What additional services would you expect from a Tower concept.



If I'm paying more for the room then I don't want to be treated like a cost center. Don't charge me for the high speed internet connection, don't charge me for local or free calls, all those silly little charges totally annoy me. I would also expect the highest quality towels, probably a bathrobe and better soap and shampoo.

* What would make you say "WOW" I shall be back again?

Upgrades for me coming back. If you have an empty suite that night, then give it to me for what I paid for the room. Upgrade me to a really good room, and I guarantee I won't even look anyplace else next time.

* What additional recognition do you expect as a Starwood Preferred guest?

The usual stuff, nothing more

Any other comments would also be highly appreciated.

Sincerely

Jennifer Buhr

my employer would never pay for me to stay in a club level/"towers" room, but if they did, or I had the money myself, then I would like to see the following..

Nice bedding. This includes quality sheets (nothing rough or sratchy), duvets, good pillows ( a selection would be nie for people who are choosy). The bulk of the time I spend in a hotel room is in bed, sleeping. I want it to be nice

Bathroom. Shower head that has really awesome water flow. Lots of water.

Desk. Good sized. Power outlet (with at least 2 plugs) right by desk at desk level (not on the floor).

mini-bar. *reasonable* prices. It would be nice if the mini-bar was there mostly for my *convenience* instead of the hotels profit center. Several dollars for a 8 oz bottle of Coke is crazy.

nightstand. Power outlet. Clock radio with large digital display and CD player.

what would make me book there? One of my clients paying is a prerequisite

This is of course a joke.

But I hate to look extravagant.

If the hotel could be code-named Motel 6 Budget, which would appear on my receipt, then I would be able to book your hotel

(Of course, not so stupid -- the origins of "Business Class" on planes)

Just a thought.

All things already said above, but I would add:
1. a good heavy shower curtain that doesn't fly around and stick to you like a light flimsy one.
2. shower faucets easy to use and with separate controls for hot/cold water so we can mix the temp ourselves
3. bedside lighting/tv controls that are easy to use and to see, so we don't have to bend over to see them.
4. light pleasant environment, rather than heavy dark stuffy room.

In all my travels, the one thing I remember most is a desk staff at Dorchester Hotel, London addressing me correctly with family name/given name in the Chinese way, rather than the usual western way of given name/family name. And the afternoon tea service in the Dorchester grand lobby with staff in long tails and a grand piano in the center. I wish more hotels would have a true afternoon tea dance with elegant ballroom dancing to correct, proper tempo dance music.

I'm glad you posted your query here. It's the small, but unusual things that make your hotel stand out.

I think jsmeeker made an excellent point. If the items in the mini-bar were comparably priced to what we'd see in a vending machine or in a convenience store (items are already overpriced in each of these places, so the hotel would still be making a nice profit), many of us wouldn't even think twice about using the mini-bar quite often. It certainly would be convenient. But when I'm getting charged several dollars for a snickers bar or $8 for a small jar of peanuts, I feel like the hotel is engaging in price gouging at my expense and it really sours my opinion of the hotel. If I felt the hotel had fair prices, it would change my opinion of that hotel dramatically for the better. I'd feel like the hotel was providing a true convenience, not just another way to siphon money out of my pocket.