The Sonesta brand initially conjures up images of its luxury hotels or Royal Sonesta properties in prime locations like the French Quarter, where the Royal Sonesta New Orleans is located, and on the Charles River, which the Royal Sonesta Boston overlooks. The restaurants in these hotels are often a reflection of the destination, such as the locally sourced Angus beef served at the Royal Sonesta Houston Galleria's Ara restaurant.
But this Boston-based hospitality company has much more to offer travelers, from the more midscale Sonesta brand to the extended stay Sonesta ES Suites as well as international locations, from Ecuador to Egypt.
Here, Scott Weiler, Sonesta's vice president marketing and communication, details how the company has evolved and what defines its brands in today's lodging landscape.
TravelPulse (TP): The Sonesta brand has a long-established reputation for iconic hotel products and excellent guest service. But could you talk about Sonesta's evolution?
Scott Weiler (SW): Sonesta has 80 years of experience in delivering personalized service and curating individual guest experiences. Since 2012, we've experienced rapid domestic growth in our portfolio-growing to our now 55 US hotels across 23 states and 80 hotels worldwide.
While high growth creates some growing pains, since we directly manage all of our U.S. hotels, we can better control the delivery of guest experience and brand standards. And with a bit more scale, we can try some new things.
Sonesta ES Suites is our newest brand and we've just announced our 43rd property is under development in the city of New Orleans, very near to Royal Sonesta New Orleans. The hotel is being converted from an apartment building, which is a first for us and is expected to open to guests at the end of the year. In the past year, we also opened Sonesta Suites Scottsdale, as well as Sonesta Hotel Loja, Ecuador.
TP: What sets Sonesta apart from other hotel brands with a global footprint?
SW: Sonesta is a growing, global hospitality brand with 80 properties in seven countries, focused on a dedication to delivering an amazing guest experience.
With a portfolio of diverse and distinctive properties, there is no such thing as a 'typical Sonesta'. We really work to bring the destination into the guest experience in some of the most memorable locations around the world, including New Orleans, San Francisco, Hilton Head, Luxor, and the Sacred Valley.
Sonesta is proud to be recognized by Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence awards for exceeding our guest's expectations by delivering an authentic experience time and time again.
TP: What advice could you offer to travel agents selling Sonesta?
SW: Send us their travelers who are seeking something more-whether that is our Everyday Surprise events held regularly at our Sonesta ES Suites to break up the humdrum day of a road warrior living with us for weeks at a time, or with savvy travelers who have "been there done that" and are looking at finding a deeper connection with a destination, like our Discover Boston package.
TP: How does Sonesta work with the retail travel community?
SW: Sonesta is proud to offer travel agents a 10 percent commission. Additionally, we also have an ongoing relationship with several consortia.
In many of our hotels, we have on-site dedicated sales staff that works with local agencies and agents managing key accounts on an account basis. We have a dedicated member of our global sales office that manages intermediary sales for group clients, who focuses on working with 3rd parties.
Sonesta also attends several tradeshows annually including IPW most recently. Our website, Sonesta.com, continues to be the best available resource for agents looking to learn more about Sonesta.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
