Singapore, 30th June 2009 ? Zinio, the global leader in digital and interactive publishing products and services, today announced a global partnership with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) to provide guests at its portfolio of specialty select hotels with access to a branded newsstand, offering digital magazines. The hotel-branded digital newsstands — powered by Zinio — will feature select single issues, for guests to enjoy during their stay at all Element and Aloft properties and participating Four Points by Sheraton properties. In Asia Pacific, Four Points by Sheraton hotels in mainland China, Australia, Malaysia, Taiwan and India as well as aloft Beijing, Haidian will offer this service to all guests.
?We are excited to align ourselves with Starwood to enhance its current guest amenity offering with Zinio?s digital-reading experience, driving mutual brand awareness and cultivating consumer adoption,” said Rich Maggiotto, President & CEO, Zinio. “Leveraging Zinio?s desire to offer on-the-go readers their favorite magazines anytime and anywhere is a logical fit for Starwood?s specialty select properties.?
The digital newsstand, which will be accessible in Starwood?s guest rooms, will offer participating titles including: Esquire, ELLE, CAIJING Magazine, World Heritage, Prestige, Money Talks, Habitat and so on. Also, Starwood will be the first hotel company to offer VIVmag (www.vivmag.com), the first interactive digital women’s luxury-lifestyle magazine, conceived and designed exclusively to be read digitally.
?At all our specialty select properties, we aim to provide guests with unique experiences that help make life on the road convenient and easy,? said Brian McGuinness, Senior Vice President of Starwood?s Specialty Select Brands. ?Partnering with Zinio enables us to extend another unique branded offering to our guests who want to keep current while traveling, without being burdened with heavy hard copies of magazines.?
Accessing the newsstand on the Starwood portal is simple:
1. Guests click through from the internet portal page to the private-label newsstand where free single issues will be featured
2. Guests select a digital magazine and are directed to Zinio?s registration process
3. Guests create an account with Zinio, enabling them to read digital magazines online or offline
Guests will enjoy immediate access to the world?s most popular digital publications, for free, with Starwood introducing the digital newsstands through on-property marketing and online marketing efforts.