December 2004 Archives

My wife and I recently stayed at the Hotel Monaco Washington D.C. and we had an excellent stay. Here are details if they are helpful to other Kimpton InTouch "Inner Circle" members:

LOCATION: The hotel location in Penn Quarter is very convenient, with close access to restaurants, shops and Metro.

TRANSPORTATION: Upon arrival at National airport, I took a Metro train from the airport to the hotel. This was very convenient and cost effective. The hotel is just across the street from the Metro Station.

CHECK IN: My wife arrived earlier in the day and checked in. She tells me check in was friendly, professional and efficient.

HOTEL BUILDING: Hotel Monaco Washington D.C. is the former Tariff Building, a completely renovated Registered National Landmark built in the mid-1800s and the city's first all-marble building. The building is unique and has lots of charm. The lobby is relatively small but beautiful; the hall ways are wide and inviting. Overall, the Hotel Monaco Washington D.C. has the distinctive feeling of a boutique hotel that we wanted (vs. the cookie cutter approach of a larger branded corporate hotel chain).

OUR ROOM: We were upgraded to a "Robert Mills suite", which was a large two room suite, with 20 foot ceilings and ornate molding. The room was ultra-clean, comfortable, and decorated tastefully. The living room area was comfortable, with a TV, stereo with surround sound, a desk -- and free high speed internet access. The desk had easy access to a power strip, the design was well thought out for the business person who would need to use the desk. The bathroom was fabulous: large, clean, well-lit, lots of counter space, a separate shower surrounded by three walls of glass, and a very nice extra: a deep Jacuzzi tub. Like Starwood's W Hotels, there were a variety of Aveda bath products, which we liked and appreciated. I should note that the suite was much larger than the standard rooms we saw being made up by housekeeping; if you get a standard room it might be a little small, similar to a small room in NYC. Comparing with the W Hotels, our suite at Hotel Monaco Washington D.C., particularly the bathroom, far surpassed what I've seen at several different W Hotels.

SPECIAL AMENITIES: Hotel Monaco Washington D.C., like all the Kimpton properties, has an evening wine hour, during which guests can socialize with each other. I really like this concept. The fitness center room is small but well appointed.

RESTAURANT: The hotel's restaurant, Poste, was very good. I won't spend a lot of time on the restaurant review except to say that our party of six enjoyed a dinner in a private dining room, all Inner Circle benefits were recognized and fulfilled, service was excellent, and we enjoyed the food. Bravo! (Also, across the street is Rosa Mexicana, a fabulous upscale Mexican restaurant that I enthusiastically recommend. Be sure to order the Guacamole en Molcajete, prepared tableside for two.)

HOTEL STAFF AND MANAGEMENT: The staff and management were very attentive, friendly, courteous and professional. On several occasions, they went above and beyond to ensure we had a memorable stay. There were a few lapses in service and execution, but those were quickly fixed or professionally handled to my satisfaction. To the staff's credit, they seemed to genuinely want feedback and have a desire to continue to improve the guest experience, and I don't think you can emphasize the importance of those qualities.

ESPECIALLY HELPFUL: Angel, the guest services manager, who deserves special recognition for being customer focused and committed to customer satisfaction. It is because of employees like Angel that I will be shifting my business from a competitor to Kimpton properties.

CHECK OUT: fast and efficient.

WHEN BOOKING YOUR ROOM: Although not the hotel's fault, each night we could hear a significant amount of street noise from our third floor room, particularly cars driving by with their radios on loud, and what seemed like a constant thumping of the bass notes in the music in their cars. Recommendation: if you're sensitive to noise of cars with loud radios blaring, I would suggest a room overlooking the inner court yard of the hotel, instead of the exterior room we had. Also, be aware that if you get a standard room it might be a little small.

THE VERDICT: Yes, I would stay at Hotel Monaco next time I visit Washington, D.C.

I have "Inner Circle" elite status with Kimpton Hotels InTouch loyalty program, and am mostly satisfied with the benefits of the program and the personal attention I have received from Kimpton.

Kimpton has often gone the extra mile to ensure that I am taken care of. They usually make me feel like a valued customer, unlike my experiences with Starwood.

I like that as one of the benefits of "Inner Circle" status, Kimpton provides me with the direct line phone and e-mail address for Kimpton CEO Tom LaTour. I have spoken with Mr. LaTour, and am favorably impressed.

On the downside, Kimpton's "In Touch" loyalty program systems and processes appear to be not as automated or advanced as other programs. I expect that over time they will make enhancements.

Preferred reservations in hotel restaurants is a good concept and the complimentary chef's course for the table is a nice touch.

I stayed at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers while on a business trip November 2003 -- and I encountered many problems and consistently poor service.

CHECK IN:

I stayed at St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort September 2003 for a one week vacation. Was favorably impressed. One of the few times I have stayed at a Starwood property without some sort of weird service problems happening. A refreshing change!

Room:

This article was originally published on PaidContent.org on November 17, 2004.

This is the fourth in a series of posts about the 6th Annual Sports Media & Technology conference.

During the session "Turning a Team Website into a Profit Center" experts from three official team sites -- two NHL, one NBA -- and an executive from MLB Advanced Media shared their insights.

The topic was particularly interesting to me because I previously founded and published one of the most popular unofficial college team sites on the Internet, Inside Carolina and because I previously built a network of college team sites selling content to fans on a subscription basis as Senior Vice-President at Rivals.com.

That said, you certainly don't have to run a sports team site for this to be meaningful. The topic is more broadly relevant to a variety of destination websites, not just sports team sites.

-- George Kliavkoff, senior vice-president at MLB Advanced Media, said that team sites in their network are one component of a larger strategy. "Think cross selling," Kliavkoff said. "Think of ticketing, sponsorship sales, merchandise and content subscriptions."

How does integrated cross selling work? Consider my real-life example: I am a Boston Red Sox fan living in Seattle and after watching free video of the Red Sox championship parade on MLB.com, I was swept up in the excitement of the victory celebration -- and on the spot purchased two Boston Red Sox championship hats via MLB.com.

-- Kliavkoff emphasized that aggregation has advantages. Visitors to MLB.com, find consistent navigation across team sites. And aggregating rights across all teams enables MLB.com to deliver a single package to their partners. That creates economic value for MLB.com.

-- In contrast, the folks who manage individual team sites within the NHL and NBA said they value their independence in running their own team websites and would be unhappy with a more centrally managed infrastructure. So what's behind that? Marty Quessenberry, director of new media for the Tampa Bay Lightning, said that his team competes for the attention of fans in Tampa Bay (which is a more football-centric market); as a result, his team website has unique needs that he believes wouldn't be met with a more centralized approach.

-- One thing everyone agreed with: the Internet enables teams to connect with fans in unique ways. For example, Quessenberry from the Tampa Bay Lightning said that last year the team auctioned in-person delivery of Valentine's Day roses by NHL players to high bidders, with the money going to charity.

-- Another example: Kurt Kehl, senior director of communications for the Washington Capitals, says that team owner Ted Leonsis regularly reads the message boards. Leonis recently took the 25 most active message board posters to dinner. Credit to Mr. Leonsis where credit is due: rewarding your most loyal customers with a unique experience -- and listening to their opinions -- is smart business.

-- Finally, Jeramie McPeek, senior director of publishing, Phoenix Suns says that his goal is to have more original content about the Suns than anywhere else. McPeek also notes that the website helps the Suns sell sponsorships, with the added online component.

As interesting as this panel was, I would have liked to have seen even broader representation among the panelists. For example, NFL.com is doing excellent work with their team sites; and thinking outside the box of official team sites, there's much that can be learned about turning a profit from experts at the two major unofficial team site networks, such as Bobby Burton from Rivals.com and Peter Gruman from Scout.com.