Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide today went live with its first two remote conferencing studios, with plans to bring two more studios online in the next few months.
The company today hosted its first in-hotel Cisco TelePresence meeting between participants at the W Chicago City Center and Sheraton on the Park Sydney. By the end of June, Starwood also plans to have remote conferencing suites operational at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers and Sheraton Centre Toronto. Later in the year, Starwood will launch its studio at the Westin Los Angeles Airport and plans ultimately to have the offering in Dallas, San Francisco, Brussels, Paris, Hong Kong and Frankfurt.
"With 2010 fully in gear, we're well on our way in bringing more public rooms in critical business hubs like Sydney and Chicago," said Peter Quinlan, director of managed TelePresence services at Tata Communications, the supplier of the suites for Starwood. "This opening is just the first step in that direction with many more in other key markets soon to follow this year."
Both Starwood and Marriott International separately announced plans last year to bring Cisco remote conferencing technology to their hotels
(BTNonline, June 30, 2009). Marriott launched its first suites in New York and the Washington, D.C. area in January
(BTNonline, Jan. 28).