Woodcliff Hotel and Spa, which from its Perinton hillside perch offers great views of the Rochester landscape, is lofty in other ways as well.
It has long been recognized as one of the region’s elite hotels, the place where CEOs and visiting celebrities regularly land.
The loftiness remains, but Woodcliff, under new management, has decided to reach out to the local community a little more. The result ideally will be goodwill and connectedness, but also a little more cash in the register.
As of May 1, Woodcliff is opening up the once exclusive spa, golf course, fitness center and pools to general membership. For the first time, members of the public, for a price, will be able to do all that only hotel guests now do.
The Lifestyle Membership, which costs $1,500 a year for a single and $2,500 for a couple, comes with discounts on everything from hotel stays, use of the meeting rooms and meals and drinks in the Horizons Restaurant or Horizons Lounge.
Jason Fulton, who took over as general manager of Woodcliff and the nearby Brookwood Inn several months ago, said the change is one of several at the hotel.
The owner, Widewaters Hotels LLC, has decided to take over running Woodcliff itself after a period of having outside management companies in charge.
With that decision, Fulton said, came a new team from chefs to front-office personnel, and upgrades to the hotel, including the spa and fitness areas.
A new area — called a relaxation room — will be added to the spa and fitness area, where clients can gather in comfort. The same luxury will be applied to the outdoor pool.
“This is something Widewaters does or is planning to do at all its facilities,” Fulton said. “The goal is to integrate more fully with the local community.
“We’ve had more than 500 inquiries about the Lifestyle Membership thus far, though at this point we don’t know how many memberships will be right. We don’t want to do so many that it affects the experience for everyone.”
There’s a financial benefit from initiatives of this sort, Fulton said. Those who buy memberships are perhaps more likely to eat at the restaurant or plan a getaway at the hotel, or pass on good news about the experience to relatives and friends.
The discounts include 50 percent off some charges related to meeting rooms, $20 off the price of a 50-minute spa treatment and 10 percent off in the Horizons Restaurant and Lounge.
Widewaters Hotels is an offshoot of a Syracuse-based commercial real estate company named Widewaters, which has management, construction and hotel divisions.
Widewaters has developed 15 hotels. The brands include Sheraton, Hilton, Hampton and Marriott.
Opening hotel spas and gyms to general membership isn’t especially new. Hotels have done this in limited ways for years, and the practice increased as the recession cut into business and leisure travel.
As a consequence of the economic dip, high-end hotels have been looking for ways to augment their cash flow. For instance, Manhattan’s Le Parker Meridien, which has rooms overlooking Central Park, this year offered Valentine’s Day packages that included four-hour stays in the rooms with a view for $150. Included were movies on demand, a Champagne split, and strawberries with whipped cream.
This sort of outreach works, said Steven Laros, front desk supervisor at the Del Monte Lodge Renaissance Hotel and Spa in Pittsford. Del Monte currently opens its spa to the public.
“It’s a way to get the word out about the hotel,” Laros said. “We have people from all over coming in for spa appointments. It’s valuable to stay connected to the community.”
Source: Democrat and Cronicle.com