Courtesy of CNN.com
Move over, room upgrades. There's a new hotel perk in town, and it might be worth more to business travelers than a bigger bed. The number of lounges is growing, especially among high-end hotels. About 18 percent of more than 8,500 hotels at all levels surveyed last year by the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Foundation have a club floor or lounge. That's up from 10 percent in 2004. Of those hotels, 89 percent of them were classified as luxury or upper upscale.
Sheraton has invested more than $100 million to upgrade 120 club lounges around the world after Starwood Preferred Guest members, which make up half of Sheraton bookings, rated them as one of the top two benefits of staying there. The Sheraton Club experience is available to all Starwood program members or with a room upgrade.
"Like many airlines, hotels such as InterContinental and Hyatt are now opening exclusive hotel club lounges to entice travelers to book with them," says Clem Bason, president of travel website company the Hotwire Group.
Adds Dr. Lalia Rach, a board member of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International, “While club lounges have been around for decades, they have become a renovation priority for hotels looking to keep room occupancy high and secure customer loyalty during the recession.”
