Sheraton New York Times Square Launches Small Meetings Services
March 23, 2015
The West Lounge in the Lower Lobby meeting space.
The Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel has unveiled a new, enhanced 11,000-sf space that provides boutique-style, personalized services and catering options to smaller-sized groups and executive meetings from 10–150 attendees. The Lower Lobby space was formally known as the Executive Conference Center and will be re-named this spring after the hotel hosts a naming contest.
“With a dedicated events team of experts specializing in smaller-sized meetings, our new Lower Lobby meeting space offers groups the types of services typically only found at boutique-style hotels,” said Terry Lewis, general manager of the Sheraton New York Times Square hotel. “Meetings planners and event clients are already enjoying the many ways that our highly focused team is providing these services.”
The new Lower Level features a $2.2 million soft goods renovation to public spaces, the entry lounge and 13 meeting rooms. The new space incorporates a clean design scheme with an emphasis on warm tones and geometric patterns. Renovation additions include new carpet, lighting, wall coverings, electronic reader boards and a state-of-the-art custom boardroom table, prewired to meet advanced AV needs. In addition, all restrooms were fully upgraded.
The Lower Lobby conference space now boasts a dedicated events team that specializes in smaller meetings — a distinct service element typically reserved only at smaller hotels. With expertise in understanding the needs of smaller meetings of up to 150 attendees, the Event Managers and Conference Services staff is dedicated specifically to guests hosting events in the Lower Lobby space. The Lower Level conference space features a 52nd Street entrance separate from the hotel lobby.
The events team at the Sheraton New York Times Square partners with the hotel’s exemplary culinary team to present options from New York City’s finest and most iconic food purveyors. The hotel sources foods from Murray’s Cheese, Zabar’s, Artisanal, Vegan Divas Bakery, Esposito and Sons, Salumeria Biellese, Beth’s Farm Preserves and other vendors known for their local New York offerings.
The historic hotel’s 50-year history as an icon in the Times Square area is highlighted as the renamed meeting rooms pay homage to New York City. Named after famed Manhattan neighborhoods, breakout rooms include Bryant Park, Columbus Circle, Madison Square, Bowery, Gramercy, Flatiron, Broadway, Turtle Bay, Murray Hill, Sutton Place, Union Square, Sugar Hill and Chelsea.
The Lower Lobby space, formerly known as the Executive Conference Center, will be renamed in May after a nationwide contest that began on March 20, 2015. Meeting planners are invited to submit a new name for the Executive Conference Center, for the chance to win 50,000 Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Starpoints or a donation to the charity of their choice. Submissions must be received by midnight EDT on April 30, 2015 and emailed to nymetromarketleads@starwoodhotels.com. Maximum of one entry per person and the charity selection must be approved by Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
The total meeting space at the hotel includes 43 meeting rooms, the 13,768-sf Metropolitan Ballroom, which hosts up to 2,500 guests, and the 8,715-sft New York Ballroom, which holds 1,200 guests. The total meetings facilities offer 35,000 sf of event and prefunction space. All meeting spaces at the Sheraton New York Times Square feature digital signage outside meeting rooms and in public spaces — with the ability to stream customized messages and live news — as well as client-controlled individual digital panels to customize lighting and temperature in each room.