Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel Blog

What's one of the best kept secrets among business travelers? Club level executive lounges. Our friends at Hotel Interactive wrote a great overview outlining the benefits of executive club floors, which offer everything from check-in and check-out services to food service. Specially trained concierges are also available to provide assistance with whatever needs guests might have. The article goes on to note: "At the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, whose 5,000 square-foot club lounge is the largest in the city, hotel manager Chuck Schuringa said his club manager one time carried food from the hotel club lounge down two floors for a female guest who has to walk with crutches. 'Now she stays with us every time she comes to town,' Schuringa said."

We just read a great article in Hotel Interactive about how hotels are trying to meet and exceed customer tech demands by offering programs and services that (hopefully) differentiate them from the competition. The piece quotes Starwood's Chief Brand Officer Phil McAveety, who talks about the Link at Sheraton, our take on the Internet Cafe. 

We just read a great article by USA Today's Nancy Trejos about hotels making it easier to stay fit on the road. More hotels are offering unique fitness programs in an effort to appeal to travelers who are committed to keeping up with a fitness routine. Not surprising, these offerings coincide with similar efforts to bring healthier dining options to hotel restaurants and room service menus so travelers can avoid packing on the pounds while away from home. 

The article highlights some fitness options available to guests at various hotels across the country, including the Sheraton (and the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel). Notes Trejos, "Guests at Sheraton Hotels and Resorts also have access to four 30-minute video-on-demand workouts for free" and "can order a complimentary 'workout in a bag,' including workout cards, a workout mat, foam rolls, resistance band and massage stick to be delivered to their room."

Two weeks ago, meetings technology company Cvent unveiled the top 50 meeting destinations in the country – with Denver ranked #15. Now we can boast that we're one of the top 50 meeting hotels in one of the most popular places for meetings and events in the country!

The August 2012 issue of Smart Meetings Magazine included a six-page feature story on hotels, sustainable dining, and meetings and events in Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs – and we’re excited to report that the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel was mentioned three times in the article!

We loved hosting both the National WIC Association and Gamma Phi Beta, and wanted to share some awesome feedback we received:

What a busy summer it’s been at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel! We hosted a few different groups during July, including attendees at the GALA Choruses Festival (held at the nearby Colorado Convention Center), the Association of perioperative Registered Nurses 2012 Leadership Conference and Learning Forward’s 2012 Summer Conference.

No doubt, many business travelers appreciate the convenience and ease of bypassing the front desk and checking themselves into and out of their hotel room via kiosks or mobile devices – especially after a long day of meetings and/or travel. In fact, nearly 80% of business travelers recently surveyed by software provider Smith Micro said they would use mobile check-in and check-out services over the front desk.

Much has been reported already this year about the changes happening in the meetings and conference industries, and Hotel Executive recently published a good overview of the most significant trends and opportunities they projected to see, including continued substantial growth, more opportunity in social/leisure group travel, fierce competition, increased expenses on behalf of corporations, increased meeting budgets, and more focus on technology. It will be interesting to see how the second half of the year shapes up according to plans and projections!

In May, our sister company Westin announced a new program that re-invents the traditional (okay, antiquated) hotel business center model to meet the changing needs of today’s business traveler.

Did you know? The Global Business Travel Association’s Business Travel Quarterly Outlook – United States, released in April, stated that the business travel market has finally stabilized and is expected to hit its pre-recession levels by the middle of 2012 (so right about now). The report estimated overall growth would be 4.6 percent this year - which bodes well for the economy as a whole.

As the largest hotel in Colorado with 133,000 square feet of flexible and versatile meeting and exhibit space along with a wide variety of room sizes and capabilities, the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel can accommodate groups ranging from 10 up to 3,000 (and more!). We’re fortunate to work with many local companies as well as groups from around the world representing a variety of industries – and interests.

The Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel was named among the top 50 Meeting hotels in the United States by Cvent.

Earlier in the year, planning professionals stated they expected an increase in the number of business meetings in 2012, but that they would be shorter, smaller and closer to home. Companies were keen to avoid the perception of excessive spending on events, and many were following the pharmaceutical industry’s lead by incorporating a code of compliance that limits the use of five-star properties in addition to those with certain resort-type amenities like golf course and spas.

An interesting article published by Hotel News Now on April 3 by Melanie Nayer offered an in-depth look at the future of meeting planning, including implications of mobile technology on the workforce (e.g. the need to appeal to a tech-savvy crowd), how to create meeting spaces that are more appealing to attendees (think mood lighting), and the latest trends in meeting location including non-traditional venues outside dark boardrooms and stuffy conference spaces (beach or rooftops, anyone?).

Denver is an ideal city to turn a business trip into a “bleisure trip,” and the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel offers business travelers many amenities including access to wireless high-speed Internet, PC stations and free printing, LCD flat screen televisions, smart desktops with laptop, iPod and television interfacing capabilities, and more.