Sheraton uncorks Social Hour

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts has launched its ‘Social Hour', a premium wine programme that allows hotel guests and other visitors to get together, mingle and try different types of wines and food at Sheraton Hotels around the world.Vincent Ong, director of brand management for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Westin Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific,  says the goal is to become a destination for a great wine experience no matter where the travels take you."We call out target audience social travellers, who are optimistic, successful, fashionable and love to travel. They are always looking for stories to share  and people to share them with, whether they travel alone or with someone," said Ong."So we launched programmes that transformed our public spaces into places for travellers to meet other people, while enjoying different wines of the world. It's about having different types of people in one place and when they leave they have a better living experience as well."The programme was developed by Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and has already been deployed in 19 global properties, with China, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia being some of the places where the pilot programme was tested. The programme will also launch in other Asia Pacific countries this week.When asked why wine was chosen, Ong said, "Wine is something people appreciate slowly and over time,  with education, so there's that level of learning that goes into it.""We did our own research and found that 66% of guests would be more inclined to purchase wine while traveling if there was a premium wine program offered. After experiencing a Sheraton Social Hour pilot programme, 95% of guests said they are 'very likely' or 'likely' to return to another Social Hour and would recommend the programme to others," he added.When guests check in, they are told of the social hour, which will be held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur. Those who are not hotel guests are also invited via Sheraton's social media outlets.Visitors will be able to get a glimpse of the ‘Social Hour' while sharing their own experience on the hotel's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.