Aloft Hotels is offering $50 concert cash to Aloft guests who stay for at least 2 nights. The concert cash is valid for select concerts at participating Live Nation shows and for merchandise.

Aloft Concert Cash

The offer is valid at participating Aloft hotels in North America for stays through October 15, 2010. Guests can also rack up multiple 2-day stays and collect more concert cash, upto $150.

Aloft’s parent Starwood Hotels & Resorts already has an On Tour with SPG program for its loyalty club members, under which guests can redeem Starpoints on Live Nation concert tickets to see headliners around the globe.

SPG members get premium ticket access and priority seating, music-inspired promotions, exclusive access to top artists for select Live Nation concerts, and retail discounts for artist merchandise and House of Blues restaurants.

Aloft also recently launched Project: Aloft Star – a facebook music video contest where the winning band will get a chance to hit the road on Aloft’s dime and perform at five Aloft hotels.

The winner will also get a chance to perform with stars like VV Brown, Jason Mraz or Lily Allen in November at Live in the Vineyard. LITV is a biannual Napa Valley music fest. Performers at the April 2010 LITV included Train, Melissa Etheridge, Back Street Boys, Macy Gray, Tonic and Ryan Star among others.

The over 40 Aloft Hotels that are already open offer, in their own words - ”style at a steal” with a w xyz bar, 24/7 gourmet grab-and-go, fast + free WiFi, re:charge gym, and the energizing splash pool.

More info: www.alofthotels.com/getconcertcash

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Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has created an online world for SPG (Starwood Preferred Guests) members. This online world is a clearing house for all the social media chatter about Starwood – on blogs, apps, facebook updates and on twitter.

Starwood Social Media

SPG members will be able to get instant realtime updates from all over the world about the latest buzz on the best destinations and the hottest travel offers. You can access the information here – www.spgpromos.com/socialmedia/

According to Starwood’s press release (via Hotel Check-in‘s Barabara De Lollis), “Members will be able to tweet tips on restaurants, bars and entertainment with whatever mobile Twitter application they use. The SPG program then automatically uploads the tip and puts it on a map with latitude and longitude of the device from which it was sent.”

The ‘SPG Insider’ will provide tips on hotspots and must-see attractions from fellow travelers and local experts, and you can share your own knowledge – all done via Twitter.

There’s also a facebook application called TripShare which allows you to share your favorite photos – doesn’t have to be related to Starwood.

Follow on twitter – @SPGInsider; Become a Facebook fan; Facebook App – TripShare

Twitter is becoming a more popular vehicle for hotels to reach clientele and job prospects.

Twitter is fast becoming a medium for companies to reach their clients. (We’re on Twitter too!  Follow us @UpTake!)  Just yesterday my own websites went down and instead of going to my server company’s web page, I went directly to their Twitter page.  In seconds I saw they had a power outage and service would be restored within the hour.  What took the company 5 seconds to Tweet saved us both time and satisfied my need-to-know immediately.

Here are some of the top hotels on Twitter.  Feel free to add to the list in comments.

The Hyatt has twitter streams for two purposes.  One @hyattconcierge, to reach clientele and prospective clients, as well as promote their brand.  The other, @hyattcareers, is meant for a search of job prospects and to post employment opportunities within the company.  It will be interesting to see if separating the two genres will prove to be lucrative for The Hyatt.

The Marriott International (@MarriottIntl)posts interesting updates and does a good job of keeping their followers.  With 13,000+ following their feed, it’s obvious The Marriott is taking Twitter seriously.  The Marriott Vacation Club (@MarriottVacClub) is an active feed, with plenty of deals for would-be travelers.  Watch this space closely for coupon codes.

I love how the Ritz Carleton actually has PR rep Allison Stitch as their front woman on Twitter (@RitzCarletonPR).  Not only does that instill a sense of humanity to the stream, you know you’re actually talking to someone who’s job it is to make you happy.  Great job Ritz Carleton!

Starwood Hotels are also doing a great job of engaging fellow Tweeters at their stream (@StarwoodBuzz)  They ask questions, post interesting stories and links and reply back – a key to keeping your followers!

Omni Hotels (@OmniHotels) have a Twitter Team, complete with pictures.  They help clients and post deals when they have them.  Seems to me they are really taking the time to answer questions and go above and beyond to help others.

Joie de Vivre Hotels of California (@JDVHotels) take the time to post interesting things near their locations, answer customer questions and solve problems.  Hotel guest Michael Fishman put the JDVHotel Twitter stream to test with shredded towels (!) and received new towels and a reply on Twitter.

Morgans Hotel Group (@morganshotels) also seem to love Tweeting about nearby nigthlife and the like.  It’s proven to be a good move for them obviously, so say their high number of followers (3100+ to be exact).  One tip for Morgans?  Follow back.  We don’t bite and your ratios are whacky.

Fairmont Hotels (@fairmonthotels) have a fun stream with contests and trivia questions.  If nothing else, this Twitter stream is enjoyable and light.  Twitter host Mike Taylor does a great job or keeping his 4500+ followers on board.

Millennium Hotels (@MillenniumPR) does a great job of posting job fairs, contests and replying to clients and prospective travelers.  There’s a bonus to being one of their followers too: they post things just for us.  I can see this account growing in popularity if Millennium keeps up the momentum.

There are many more hotels on Twitter.  Here is a comprehensive list for you to find your favorites or to touch base with any of the hotels you plan on visiting.

Photo Credit: Karen Bodkin (screenshot of Twitter)

Starwood Hotels & Resorts is running a global summer sale under which 600 participating hotels are offering as much as 50% off.

Starwood Hotels Summer Sale

Offers available include the Sheraton Kauai with rates from $189 per night, W Times Square with rates from $199 per night and Sheraton Boston Hotel with rates from $139 per night.  

In Mexico, Le Méridien Cancun Resort & Spa has rates from $92 and the St. Regis Punta Mita is offering rates from $239. Travelers to Asia Pacific will enjoy deep discounts at properties including Le Méridien Bangalore with rates from $107, W Hong Kong with rates from $219 and Sheraton Miyako Hotel Tokyo with rates from $120.

Book by July 20 for stays between July 16 and October 12, 2009. Reserve online at www.starwoodhotels.com/julyLTO or by calling 866-924-8704 and asking for “July LTO.”

Also, if you’re interested in a summer spa getaway with Starwood, book in before July 31 at participating Starwood Hotels & Resorts in the Caribbean, Florida, Alabama, Texas, the Carolinas and Georgia. 

Starwood Summer Spa Getaway

Under this promo, Starwood will fork over daily spa credits worth $100. For every night you reserve, you get $100 worth of free spa credits, which you can spend on anything you want.

Offer valid until Sept 30, 2009. Book online here – http://starwoodpromos.com/spa/