Starwood's Sheraton chain is rolling out new wine menus and a winetasting hour in a bid to give gues

Starwood's Sheraton chain is rolling out new wine menus and a winetasting hour in a bid to give guests another reason to socialize inhotel lobbies while boosting wine and food sales. Unlike boutique hotel operator Kimpton, hotels in reno Sheraton hotels won't offerguests a free, full glass of wine each evening. Sheraton is, however, going to give guests two-ounce samples ofpremium wines that received high ratings from Wine Spectator . TWITTER: Follow USA TODAY's Barb DeLollis FACEBOOK: Join Barb DeLollis on Facebook TRAVEL NEWS: Do you like to book hotels near Whole Foods? Hotels that participate in Sheraton's "Social Hour" will hold thetastings three to four times per week. 7 Inch Tablet Pc
In North America, two of thewines they pour will hold a 90 or above rating from Wine Spectator . To further elevate the experience, the hotels will pour the wineinto upscale Reidel stemware. Expect to taste wines from ChateauSte. Michelle, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars and Northstar. TRAVEL NEWS: Landmark Vietnam hotel to open secret bunker to tourists TRAVEL NEWS: Could we see more hotels install movie theaters? So what do you do if you like the wine you sampled? Buy a glass, ofcourse! Along with the wine tasting program, participating Sheraton hotelsalso are launching a new "Sheraton Selects" wine menu, with somehotels suggesting food that goes well with the wines. China Mobile Phone Accessories
The menuswill hotels in reno vary by hotel, but feature wines considered good values by Wine Spectator . The magazine reviews more than 15,000 hotels in reno wines each year in blindtastings. The Starwood-owned chain today will announce that it's launchingthe wine program in about 240 hotels hotels in reno around the world, or about 60%of its properties. Currently, these hotels offer a mix of wineswith no particular consistency. About a dozen Sheraton hotels hotels in reno are kicking off the program by nextweek, including properties in Phoenix, Boston, Manhattan, LosAngeles and Chicago; all participating hotels will have the wineprogram in place by July 1, says Sheraton spokeswoman Nadeen Ayala. China 10 Inch Tablet Pc
Later this year, expect to see the program adopted by properties inSeattle; Waikiki; Madrid; Edinburgh, Scotland, and Toronto. It's no secret that younger travelers - specifically, Gen Xers -love to chat while sipping hotels in reno and sampling different wines. That's precisely why Strategic hotels in reno Hotels is rolling out ENO wine tasting rooms - where you can buy wines by the flight, plus gourmet cheeses andchocolates - in some of its hotels including an InterContinental, aRitz-Carlton and a Four Seasons. Does Sheraton's program sound familiar to you? It might.
Sheratonpiloted this in 19 hotels around the world and concluded it wasworth rolling out. Nearly hotels in reno 95% of people who participated in aSocial Hour said they were likely or very likely to return toanother. Readers : What do you think about this concept? Could it make you switchfrom a Marriott or a Hilton?.