The Suite Life

Thanks to the number of people who participated in the first three wiki experiments for the Four Seasons New York, The Clift Hotel San Francisco, and Wynn Hotel and Casino Las Vegas.

I want to try it again and see if we can have more people contribute or feel free to go back to any of the earlier three. I’d also like to see people who have issues with other’s comments offer a re-write or an update. If you want to re-write someone else’s comment, do so in your posted comment and I’ll take that and make the change in the post.

This time, we’re going to try to do it with the swanky in the desert, Hotel Zoso in Palm Springs.

Here is the current description (latest addition is bolded):

Hotel Zoso is located in the heart of downtown Palm Springs. The hotel features beautiful guestrooms in a modern décor, featuring 42-in. plasma tvs, wifi internet access, triple-sheeted premium frette linens and down comforters, in-room safes, robes, and slippers. Some rooms feature a balcony or patio. Also onsite is a full service spa, outdoor swimming pool with pool bar and fire pit. Dining options include casual dining, fine dining, and 24-hour room service.

Now I know we can do better than that.

What I want:

Did you eat at eatz. at the desert Did you like it?
Did you like your bedsheets?
What about the service of the hotel?
Did they know your name when you walked around?
Some feature that only you are obsessed by in hotels?
How was the pool and the pool bar?
Close to downtown Palm Springs? Did you feel like leaving the hotel?

Keep checking back and eventually, maybe we’ll be able to use these kind of postings on the Perfect Escapes site. For now, they will reside here but I’m curious to see how helpful a community can be.

If you have an idea for another hotel to try or any ideas in whether or not you think wiki hotel descriptions would be a useful tool in deciding how to choose a luxury hotel, send me some comments.

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Yes, yes, user reviews are important and everyone likes them and finds them useful. Funny how the New York Times wrote this article since we at Perfect Escapes wrote one very similar to it a few months ago, although our take was a bit different: The Problem with User Reviews. We also ran an article from Hotel Chatter that exposed a hotel writing its own review on Trip Advisor but not being transparent about the practice.

Sites like Trip Advisor, Igougo, FlyerTalk, Travelpost, Gusto and others do provide a service, such as finding out information from real people who stayed at hotels you are interested in learning about. But these are how reviews have been done for years.

I’m still more interested at how reviews like this can be more integrated, such as in a Wiki (see either Wikitravel or TripAdvisor Inside (their Wiki section), or our very own Great Hotel Description Wiki Experiment, Volumes 1, 2, and 3.)

But it is interesting to see the New York Times cover the topic of hotel user reviews.

Below is a brief of the article by Nana Rausch and the link to the article:

The Web Gives Hotel Guests the Last Word

NEARLY every morning, over his second cup of coffee, Tom Brady, general manager at the Affinia Chicago, logs onto his computer and surfs over to TripAdvisor.com to see if there are any new postings about his hotel.

“It’s an obsession,” he said. If the review is positive he moves on. If it’s unfavorable — like the complaint posted in March from a guest who had received a $90 parking ticket because of a valet’s error — he’s on it immediately. In that case, he marched straight out to the valet to find out what had happened. After identifying the guest, he made sure that the company issued an apology and a reimbursement for the ticket.

“This is all over the world,” he said, describing his concern about any negative comment on TripAdvisor. “Everyone is looking at this. I’ve got to make sure it’s solved quickly, so God forbid someone else doesn’t have the same problem.”

The individual traveler’s word is weightier than ever. Before the advent of travel review sites like TripAdvisor, IgoUgo.com and MyTravelGuide.com, customer complaints about dirty showers or threadbare sheets typically went to hotels directly and discreetly in the form of comment cards, phone calls or e-mail messages. But as review sites have become more popular, customer feedback that was once viewed only by a hotel’s staff is increasingly being posted online for all to see, enabling guests to share their praise or air their gripes publicly.

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Thanks to the number of people who participated in the Wiki-Hotel Description Experiment Part 1 for the Four Seasons. Go to the post to see the old description and the new one, which is also now full of integrated links relevant to the description. There was a good response and the complete description became rather humorous and slightly useful.

The second attempt for the Wynn Las Vegas went alright although not as many people participated as I would have liked. 3rd time is a charm so I’m going to try again.

I want to try it again and see if we can have more than 4 people contribute. I’d also like to see people who have issues with other’s comments offer a re-write or an update. If you want to re-write someone else’s comment, do so in your posted comment and I’ll take that and make the change in the post.

This time, we’re going to try to do it with the ultra-hip Clift Hotel in San Francisco.

Here is the current description (latest addition is bolded):

An inspired fusion of old-world hotel elegance with distinctly contemporary energy and glamour, the newly redesigned Clift, in the heart of San Francisco’s Union Square, takes modern luxury to another level.

From the Surrealistic magic of its soaring lobby to the digital art exhibitions in its celebrated and legendary Redwood Room, the nearly century-old Clift’s daring new sense of diversity perfectly captures the city’s spirit. Designed by Philippe Starck, Clift is a wonderland for the jetset. No stay or visit to the Clift is complete without having a drink in the Redwood Room. The atmosphere is completely swanky although crowded beyond belief, especially on weekends. But the real draw are the “paintings” on the wall. Keep your eye on them or they may keep their eye on you.

To understand what we’re trying to do, see the original post for the Wiki-Hotel Description Experiment Part 1 for the Four Seasons.

What I want:

Did you eat Asia de Cuba? Did you like it?
How about the Redwood Room?
Did you like your bedsheets?
What about the service of the hotel?
Did they know your name when you walked around?
Did you sit in the great big chair in the lobby? Get a pic or video of your doing it? Send it.
Any opinion about Ian Schrager?
Some feature that only you are obsessed by in hotels?

Keep checking back and eventually, maybe we’ll be able to use these kind of postings on the Perfect Escapes site. For now, they will reside here but I’m curious to see how helpful a community can be.

Social Bookmarks:

Thanks to the number of people who participated in the Wiki-Hotel Description Experiment Part 1 for the Four Seasons. Go to the post to see the old description and the new one, which is also now full of integrated links relevant to the description. There was a good response and the complete description became rather humorous and slightly useful.

I want to try it again and see if we can have more than 4 people contribute. I’d also like to see people who have issues with other’s comments offer a re-write or an update. If you want to re-write someone else’s comment, do so in your posted comment and I’ll take that and make the change in the post.

This time, we’re going to try to do it with the newest latest and greatest Las Vegas hotel, the Wynn Las Vegas.

Here was the original description on Perfect Escapes:

Imagine a resort designed to ensure that everything you need is always closer than you think. Where every room inspires you with views of cascading waterfalls or an 18-hole championship golf course. And where every detail invites you to relax in an exclusive sanctuary right in the middle of the most exciting city on earth.

Every person has their passion. Wynn Las Vegas will be the most intimately imaginative resort experience anywhere in the world. (from Perfect Escapes

Here is the wiki version (which will be updated as more are submitted)

Imagine a resort designed to ensure that everything you need is always closer than you think. Where every room inspires you with views of cascading waterfalls or an 18-hole championship golf course. And where every detail invites you to relax in an exclusive sanctuary right in the middle of the most exciting city on earth.

The Wynn is impressive, even amongst Vegas Strip hotels -grand in its excess but with an acute attention to detail at the same time. It has almost all of what attracts us to the Vegas strip - luxurious accomodations (a second flat screen in your bathroom), amazing public areas complete with water shows, top-ranked restaurants boasting celebrity chefs, Fifth Avenue shopping, and a world-class spa and golf course. Although appropriate for its surroundings, the minimums on the tables do not seem to dip below $25 bets. Although like all of Vegas, smoke fills the casino and even somehow seems to make it to the rooms.

To understand what we’re trying to do, see the original post for the Wiki-Hotel Description Experiment Part 1 for the Four Seasons.

What I want:

Were the tables good? Poker Room?
How did you like the pool? Private cabanas?
Did you eat at the Wynn? Did you like it?
What about the bars?
What were the cocktail waitresses like? The dealers?
Did you like your bedsheets?
What about the service of the hotel?
Any photos of your hotel room, the view? Video? - Post it on YouTube and we can link to it.
Does the hotel live up the hype as the biggest and newest and greatest in Las Vegas?
Some feature that only you are obsessed by in hotels?
What makes the Wynn better than any other Las Vegas hotel?

Keep checking back and eventually, maybe we’ll be able to use these kind of postings on the Perfect Escapes site. For now, they will reside here but I’m curious to see how helpful a community can be.

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