Westin Upgrades Business Centers for the Tech Savvy
In its latest improvement aimed at capturing the road warrior market, Westin recently announced the rollout of new-and-improved onsite business centers at its properties worldwide.
Dubbed Project Hive, Westin's revamped business spaces will replace the so-called antiquated business center model, according to a press release by parent company Starwood Hotels and Resorts . New features for today's mobile savvy traveler include "media:scape" by Steelcase for digital file-sharing and communication, video conferencing, Samsung televisions, printers, sound systems, Xbox 360, floor-to-ceiling white boards, and office supplies.
“The one-size-fit-all small meeting spaces and traditional business centers no longer support the way today’s mobile traveler works,” says Brian Povinelli, global brand leader for Westin Hotels in the release. “More than 70 percent of business travelers told us that an environment that better supports their work objectives would significantly improve their business travel experience and 48 percent said having facilities available whenever they wanted to use them would positively impact the quality of their hotel stay."
Both wired and wireless Internet will be available for free and numerous power outlets will be located throughout the space. The centers offer enough privacy to allow groups of up to four people to conduct small meetings or hold calls and teleconferences.
The new business centers will be no more than 260 square feet and will be created either by renovating existing onsite business centers or by carving out new ones from specially dedicated space. And they will not only be packed with functionality, but also interesting to look at. The design of the wall murals was inspired by the Fibonacci sequences, those sequences of numbers that generate patterns found in nature, such as the spiral of a shell.
Westin's Arlington Gateway property near Washington, D.C. and the Westin Boston Waterfront already have the spiffed-up facilities. Rollout is planned for the other 188 hotels worldwide through 2013.
