Westin Hotels Creates Suite of Offerings to Soothe Frazzled Travelers
Source: Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Nov 18, 2006 - 6:01:29 AM
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New 'Travelers' Renewal' Program Developed with Prevention
Magazine in Response to Landmark Study of Travelers' Wellbeing
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.- Nov. 16, 2006--Westin Hotels & Resorts today began piloting a three-pronged Travelers' Renewal program designed to help guests ease the wear-and-tear of traveling. The program, developed in consultation with experts at Prevention magazine, was created in response to Westin's landmark attitudinal research study on the physiological and psychological effects of travel. The study examined the experiences of frequent travelers to help Westin better understand how its guests feel when they arrive, and how to help them renew their bodies, minds and spirits during their stays. The resulting suite of offerings is now being piloted in 20 hotels worldwide.
The three-pronged program features a Travelers' Renewal Menu, Station and Kit. The menu will offer remedies for common travel ailments, such as green tea to reenergize, aloe and pineapple sorbet to sooth sore throats and hot chicken soup to quell stomach upset. Travelers' Renewal Stations will provide fruit, hand purifier and water in Westin hotel lobbies to help keep guests hydrated and healthy when they arrive and when they leave the hotel's doors. The Travelers' Renewal Kit will be available for purchase, offering tools to make traveling easier, from a refreshing hand purifier to Sudoku games.
"Westin has learned what we all know from experience--that travel can be stressful and taxing on one's health," said Liz Vaccariello, editor-in-chief at Prevention. "But there are simple steps travelers can take to restore their wellbeing on the road--and we've worked with Westin to make being healthy on the road even easier."
The Travel-Related Responses in Passengers: TRIP Study revealed that travelers are often stressed and lonely, feeling out of control and even sick on the road. Working with the editors at Prevention, Westin hotels developed the Travelers' Renewal Program to respond directly to the study's key findings:
FACT: Many travelers are sick on the road. Nearly 8 in 10 have taken flights while feeling under the weather.
RENEWAL REMEDY: The Travelers' Renewal menu includes a portfolio of cold relief and stomach-calming snacks, including vitamin C-dense Boost Juice, a honeysuckle and lemon elixir, and a Havana Treat Plate that is filled with foods that ease digestion like banana, rice and toast. The Travelers' Renewal Station at the hotels' doors will also offer hand purifying towelettes, water and hydrating fruits to help guests reduce their exposure to germs and combat illness on the road.
FACT: Travel can be physically depleting. Nearly one in four frequent travelers experiences physical stress while flying.
RENEWAL REMEDY: The Travelers' Renewal Menu will make available various products to lessen physical discomfort, including a heating pad, ice pack, and humidifier. Guests will also be able to request common over-the-counter medications anytime day or night.
FACT: Travel can interrupt sleep habits. Fifty-five percent of survey respondents experience significant shifts in sleep habits away from home.
RENEWAL REMEDY: Westin will offer insomnia relief products like a goodnight banana and milk smoothie to guests, and foods dense with good carbohydrates to help jetlagged guests fall asleep, and protein-rich foods to help them face the day feeling energized.
FACT: Travelers often feel off-balance or out of control, and two-thirds of them do something to alleviate their sense of lost control while traveling.
RENEWAL REMEDY: The Travelers' Renewal Kit will offer mind-enriching distractions like Sudoku and a copy of Prevention magazine, in addition to hand purifying towelettes, a healthy energy bar, and other renewing treats.
FACT: Travelers don't have to feel run down away from home.
RENEWAL REMEDY: The editors at Prevention magazine have an arsenal of tips for healthy travel, and Westin guests will have access to this information throughout their stays. Guests will learn everything from the fact that the scent of citrus has revitalizing properties to how to get the best workout on the road.
"Westin is all about helping our guests to renew their bodies, minds and spirits, but we can't do that without insights into the stressors guests face," said Sue Brush, senior vice president, Westin Hotels & Resorts. "The information we learned from our survey, coupled with the expertise of Prevention's editors, helped us to develop an offering that we think will make a real difference in our guests' wellbeing." For more information on the Travelers' Renewal products visit www.westin.com/travelersrenewal.
The Travel-Related Responses in Passengers: TRIP Study was executed in collaboration with International Communications Research, a New York survey and data collection firm.
Westin Hotels & Resorts, with 127 hotels and resorts in 31 countries and territories, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 850 properties in more than 95 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood(R) Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury Collection(R), Sheraton(R), Westin(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, W(R), Le Meridien(R) and the recently announced Aloft(SM). Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
About Prevention
Rodale Inc.'s Prevention magazine, America's leading healthy lifestyle publication and the 11th largest magazine in the nation, has been providing readers with the most current information on health, fitness, nutrition, and cutting-edge medical news for more than 50 years. Published 12 times a year, it is the nation's most authoritative, trustworthy and innovative source for practical health information. Every month, the magazine reaches an audience of nearly 11 million readers and its highly acclaimed Web site, Prevention.com, averages 1.6 million unique visitors. Prevention also publishes 14 special interest titles and four bookazines every year; prints three international editions in 21 countries; produces the top-selling Prevention Fitness Systems workout videos; and conducts national surveys examining important health issues.
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