Specialized Sounds

Two major players in the hotel industry have signed deals with record companies of late. Alas, neither Ian Schrager nor Bill Marriott is planning a debut album anytime soon. Rather, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts have inked partnership deals with Sony BMG Music Entertainment and EMI Music, respectively.

By Adam Kirby, Associate Editor -- HOTELS Magazine, 11/1/2007

Fairmont offers guests pre-loaded digital music players as part of its Fairmont Fit program.

WORLDWIDE Two major players in the hotel industry have signed deals with record companies of late. Alas, neither Ian Schrager nor Bill Marriott is planning a debut album anytime soon. Rather, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts have inked partnership deals with Sony BMG Music Entertainment and EMI Music, respectively.

The Starwood-Sony deal, which is being phased in across Starwood's global brand spectrum, encompasses online interactive venues to explore and acquire music, in-room TV offerings, lobby music, customized products, special events and exclusive VIP access opportunities involving Sony artists. "We see that music is one of the key sensory elements in a hotel, like scents, and we want to make sure we have music encompassed in all our various touchpoints," says Rod Mano, Starwood's director of entertainment strategy.

On that note, Sony and Starwood are collaborating on unique "tailored sounds" for each Starwood brand, with the goal of creating musical experiences that mirror the brands' various personalities, changing in tone and tempo based on time of day. "Each brand has its own sound, playlist and music vision," Mano says. Additionally, in-room televisions will feature dedicated channels showing artist interviews and music videos.

The Starwood/Sony partnership will have a signifi cant presence outside the hotels as well. Sony is launching a series of online music services through the Web sites of Starwood brands. The services, which will include streaming programming and customized online stores, will feature artists and music chosen specifi - cally for the audiences of the respective brands. Each brand also will have its own compilation albums. Finally, the Starwood Preferred Guest loyalty program will leverage the Sony partnership by allowing members to use Starpoints to bid on experiences like backstage concert passes and access to exclusive performances.

Fairmont's deal with EMI is fairly similar to Starwood's deal with Sony. The partnership allows Fairmont to infuse music into a range of guest experiences-including in-room music access-as well as special advantages for Fairmont President's Club members, such as access to EMI music via CD or digital download. The music program, which made its debut at Fairmont's Canadian properties, currently is being rolled out throughout the North American portfolio before eventually going global.

One key aspect of the Fairmont-EMI partnership that separates it from the Starwood-Sony deal is that Fairmont is adding music to its Fairmont Fit program, allowing participating guests the use of digital music players loaded with hundreds of tracks from EMI artists across all genres.

The music players are Zens models by Creative Labs, and each has a unique playlist. "Our members are pretty diverse in music preferences and tastes," says Brian Richardson, Fairmont's vice president of marketing and communication, "but the nice thing about working with EMI is that their library is diverse enough that we can provide all kinds of genres."