Westin Hotels & Resorts unveils campaign for its signature 'Heavenly Bed' in India

Besides a mall promotion, a radio contest urges people to call in with their "heavenly" experiences and take a Heavenly Bed home

Who doesn't want a good night's sleep? Eleven years ago, global hotel and resort chain, Westin Hotels & Resorts received a wake-up call from travellers, who said in a survey that the most important service a hotel can offer is a good night's sleep. Following this, Westin spent more than $30 million to create and introduce 52,000 new Heavenly Beds in its hotels.

Now, aiming to popularise these Heavenly Beds, and thereby its chain of hotels and resorts in India, Westin has launched an integrated marketing campaign. The campaign utilises nearly all media platforms, including print, online, radio, outdoor, airport advertising, promotional and experiential activities.

Throughout October and early November, Westin will enable consumers to experience the Heavenly Bed, which will be displayed in key locations in Mumbai (October 15-20 at Oberoi Mall and October 25-31 at Inorbit Mall), Delhi (October 29-31 at DLF Emporio) and Hyderabad (November 01-07 at Inorbit Mall).

Westin Hotels & Resorts has also tied up with radio station 91.1 FM in Mumbai and Delhi, where callers are being asked to describe their most "heavenly" experience. The best entry will win the luxurious Heavenly Bed. The contest commenced on October 18 and will continue till the end of the month. The radio campaign is targeted at corporate influencers and business travellers.

The online campaign, designed by Westin Hotels & Resorts, revolves around creating an enjoyable package for those with excruciatingly demanding work schedules. The aim is to reinforce the idea of a relaxing, de-stressing holiday. The online campaign, which has been structured in association with premier business and news portals, involves the employment of social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter.

What is the Heavenly Bed, you ask? This is Westin's signature bed, which is made with 10 crisp layers of white bedding, five plush pillows and an exclusive pillow top mattress. Today, there are more than 97,000 Heavenly Beds in over 65,000 Westin guestrooms worldwide.

"Westin's Heavenly Bed forever changed the hotel industry's bed offerings. We are thrilled that our most important critics -- our guests -- have taken notice of this in India already, with our hotels in Gurgaon, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune," says Vincent Ong, director, brand management, Westin Hotels & Resorts.

In India, Westin currently has five hotel properties: The Westin Mumbai Garden City, The Westin Sohna Resort & Spa (Gurgaon), The Westin Pune Koregaon Park, The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace, and the most recent, The Westin Gurgaon, which was opened on October 01.

Interestingly, Westin, which hails from the Starwood Group of Hotels (Le Meridien, Sheraton, Luxury Collection, Aloft, W, St Regis, Element and Four Points) also jump-started the hotel-retail phenomenon after receiving hundreds of inquiries from guests, who wanted to know where they could purchase their own Heavenly Bed. The company has sold more than 30,000 Heavenly Beds, 100,000 pillows, 32,000 sheets, and 13,000 shower heads to consumers.

The chain has also expanded 'Heavenly' into a lifestyle brand, with luxurious offerings for bath and baby-care. However, the brand doesn't plan to launch these ranges in India anytime soon. Instead, it has chosen to focus on marketing initiatives for the chain of hotels and resorts.