02 March 2010

Starwood introduces new tech for face-to-face meetings

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. unveiled its first in-hotel Cisco TelePresence meeting suites with a virtual, interactive meeting spanning across two continents.

"The W Chicago City Center and Sheraton on the Park in Sydney are the first in Starwood's global portfolio to introduce the new meeting facilities, showcasing the state-of-the-art Cisco TelePresence technology," the hotel company says.

Participants in both locations 9,000 miles apart have a seat at the table and are able to meet "face-to-face" utilizing ultra-high definition video, superior audio and life-size imagery of all participants.

The hotel chain cited a growing need to incorporate technology into meetings.

"More businesses are recognizing the value of being able to rent Cisco TelePresence facilities by the hour, either to extend their existing deployment to further locations or to experience Cisco TelePresence for the first time," said Mark Weidick, VP/GM for Cisco's TelePresence Exchange Business Unit.

Starwood last year announced a partnership with Tata Communications and plans to build Cisco TelePresence rooms in 10 properties worldwide.

Two more Cisco TelePresence meeting suites will open in the first half of this year including the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers and Sheraton Centre Toronto which will come online in the upcoming months.

Other Starwood locations planned to open this year include The Westin Los Angeles Airport, with the anticipation to expand the offering to key domestic and international business markets such as Dallas, San Francisco, Brussels, Paris, Hong Kong and Frankfurt.

By David Wilkening