Some of the old-guard "workhorses" of the hotel industry spent much of March trying to get their

guests to play around a little more.

At the nearly 200 hotels under Starwood Hotels & Resorts' Westin brand, guests were treated to

open-house events stemming from the brand's new "Well-Being Movement" campaign, which included activities such as guided 5-kilometer runs, appointments at the hotels' Heavenly Spas and group yoga sessions.

Meanwhile, Marriott International's Renaissance brand was getting ready to produce live-music

shows such as a concert with alt-rock ensemble Grouplove at the Renaissance New York Times Square and a co-produced event with Universal Music Group at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

Indeed, some of the most established upper-upscale brands are no longer just about great location,

reliable service standards and big meetings spaces. Today, events best reflect how some of the most entrenched top-tier brands are sharpening their marketing focus to win over the youth and lifestyle markets.

The trend toward lifestyle attributes such as local entertainment and wellness benefit from increased

business-travel spending, while at the same time enabling upper-upscale brands to compete against smaller, boutique hotels whose natural constituency is the more individualistic type of traveler.

Renaissance, whose 155 hotels are split about evenly between domestic and international, said in

early March that it would start featuring local live acts in its lounges, poolside areas and public spaces while punctuating its campaign with occasional shows from nationally known bands at its hotels.

In addition to the Renaissance Times Square concert and South by Southwest event, Renaissance

has reached an agreement with AEG, a promoter with a live-events website, to set aside tickets to some of AEG's shows specifically for Renaissance guests. AEG operates facilities such as Brooklyn's Barclays Center, the Staples Center in Los Angeles and Seattle's KeyArena.

"We are well positioned in between traditional business hotel brands, the boutiques and the

independents," said Dan Vinh, vice president of global marketing for Renaissance.

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