Starwood “Moments” Auctions

Starwood Preferred Guest, the hotel loyalty program for Starwood Hotels, including Sheraton, Four Points, Meridian, Loft, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels and Westin, is offering its members the ability to auction hotel points for once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

If you’re an uber business traveler who has more miles than you know what to do with, then you can probably afford that weekend away without scrounging up miles anyway. So why not use them for something more interesting…something you can’t just go out and get on your own. Enter Moments.

Moments auctions allow you to bid on extraordinary experiences. Experiences you can’t just run out and do on your own. The auctions change frequently, so you have to keep checking to find something that really floats your boat.

What can you expect?

Right now, the following experiences are up for bid:

Hit the Links with Hale Irwin
Tickets to the 2007 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Red Hot Holiday Stomp with Wynton
Boston vs. Chicago with Ben Gordon

So, basically it’s all sports stuff. Which is great, if you like sports.

In the past, they’ve offered these little deals:

Backstage with John Mayer
Justin Timberlake VIP Package
Play with the Pros at the NEPA Classic Pro Am

Golf packages seem to be WAY over-represented as far as I’m concerned. I guess they’re marketing primarily to the male business travelers (or to 14 year olds if you judge by the J.T. package).

Anyway, for the business traveler who has everything, this can be an much more interesting way to burn off those miles than spending another weekend away from home.