Yahoo, Sheraton offer Wi-Fi lounge

Yahoo is getting into the Wi-Fi hot-spot business with Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, but the partners aren't stopping there.

In a trial announced last week, the companies are setting up their own virtual and physical spaces - localized Web portals as well as lounges - in a few U.S. Sheraton hotels.

Free or fee-based Wi-Fi is nothing new in major hotels, including Sheraton facilities, but Yahoo and Sheraton are looking to enrich the experience with a "virtual concierge" Web portal for guests, and in some cases a special lounge in the lobby. The product, called Yahoo Link @ Sheraton, began in a trial last week with lounges and Web portals at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina and Sheraton Boston. The companies also launched portals for the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers and the Sheraton Stamford in Connecticut.

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Yahoo is getting into the Wi-Fi hot-spot business with Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, but the partners aren't stopping there.

In a trial announced last week, the companies are setting up their own virtual and physical spaces - localized Web portals as well as lounges - in a few U.S. Sheraton hotels.

Free or fee-based Wi-Fi is nothing new in major hotels, including Sheraton facilities, but Yahoo and Sheraton are looking to enrich the experience with a "virtual concierge" Web portal for guests, and in some cases a special lounge in the lobby. The product, called Yahoo Link @ Sheraton, began in a trial last week with lounges and Web portals at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina and Sheraton Boston. The companies also launched portals for the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers and the Sheraton Stamford in Connecticut.

At the core of the offering is a co-branded, localized Web portal for each hotel, accessible in lounge areas and guest rooms. When guests check in, they will be given pass codes to get on the Wi-Fi network and enter the portal, as well as to take advantage of other services in the Yahoo Link lounge, says Murray Gaylord, vice president of brand marketing at Yahoo. The portal will provide local information such as weather, nearby attractions and restaurants, and driving directions. Guests and hotel employees will be able to expand on those listings with their own reviews and recommendations.

Hotel guests also will get a free 30-day trial of a bundle of Yahoo premium services, including Yahoo Music, Mail Plus, Briefcase, All Star Games and Finance Tracker.

The Yahoo Link @ Sheraton lounge areas will have a handful of Ethernet-connected desktop PCs and seating areas where guests can use their own devices. At any time, guests will be able to use the workstations and Wi-Fi and send documents to a printer in the lounge for free printing, Gaylord says. With printer access, traveling guests could, for example, print out airline boarding passes while waiting for their bags to be brought down. The area will feature comfortable seating, a plasma TV and refreshments for sale, he says.

Yahoo's customers told the company they wanted more than just a network connection or an online Yahoo presence when traveling, Gaylord says.

"People don't want to just stay in their rooms on the computer. . . . They want some kind of social interaction," he says.

Sheraton, a division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, with about 400 hotels worldwide, is responsible for the network infrastructure, while Yahoo takes care of the Web portal, Gaylord says. The companies will look at response to the trial in about six months to gauge whether to expand the offering in the United States or overseas, he says.

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