I’m working in Kuala Lumpur this week (sounds jet-set, but a) all I have seen so far is the hotel, b) we’re working on yoghurt all week). I was expecting to suffer a nightmare night without sleep when I arrived on Monday, owing to the 7 hours time difference. Amazinly, no sooner had I gone to bed then "bang", I was asleep. I awoke at 7am the next day actually feeling refreshed. This could have had something to do with getting off the plane at 7am after a 13.5 hour flight, and going straight into a day of consumer interviews, store-checks and meetings that only finished at 10pm. But I also like to think it was helped by my "Heavenly Bed" TM in the Westin Hotel where we are staying.
I’d read about the Heavenly Bed, but never tried one…here are some of its features:
* A custom-designed pillowtop mattress set by Simmons with 900 individual coils;
* Three sheets – ranging in thread count from 180 to 250;
* A down blanket – three versions for three different climates;
* A comforter and a crisp white duvet; Five goosedown/goose feather pillows.
Sounds good? Well it really is. In fact, the bed is so good that the Nordstrom department store chain decided to sell the bedding range. The branding is also clever, using an ownable descriptor which is specific to Westin and hard to copy, yet says what the bed does.
What a great bit of product innovation, which makes the stay memorable, has got me talking, and had made me think about Westin next time I book a business hotel. Its a great combination of sausage/product and sizzle/emotion. And its not the only innovation. Take the really nice smell I noticed in the lobby…it turns out this is the signature Westin scent they use.