From hands-on Japanese Shodō calligraphy led by award-winning local artists in Japan and craft experiences in Vietnam, to celebrations of South Korea’s fermentation traditions, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s global portfolio of over 30 extraordinary hotel brands, is bringing a distinctly local character to its hotels across Asia Pacific excluding China (APEC) this November. Across 15 markets, Gatherings by Sheraton will bring guests and locals together through experiences shaped by the culture, people and everyday rituals of each destination.
Gatherings by Sheraton, the brand’s global program of recurring events hosted across the hotel’s public spaces, gives guests and locals a reason to stay, meet and share an experience. Bringing the brand’s positioning as “The World’s Gathering Place” to life, the program creates opportunities for guests to discover something new and connect with the community.
This November, one regional idea will take on nine distinct expressions across APEC, with Sheraton hotels working with local partners to interpret it in ways that reflect their destinations. For travelers, the Gatherings offer a more personal introduction to a place through the people who call it home; for the local community, they provide a welcoming place to share familiar rituals and discover new ones.
“A hotel is one of the few places where people from different walks of life naturally cross paths, whether they are traveling for work, discovering a new city or simply part of the local community,” said Cristiano Rinaldi, Chief Lodging Product & Services Officer, Asia Pacific excluding China, Marriott International. “At Sheraton, we see an opportunity to turn these everyday encounters into more meaningful connections. By inviting each hotel to interpret Gatherings through a local lens, we hope to give guests and communities new reasons to come together.”
From Run Clubs to Craft Tables: How APEC Gathers
Spanning food, craft, wellbeing and social rituals, the nine themes show how each market is bringing its own character to the regional program.
In Indonesia, Finish-Line Maxxing taps into run-club culture with recovery sessions and local coffee, while Malaysia and Singapore’s After Five turns the end of the working day into a social ritual spanning food, creative experiences and live programming. In Thailand, Offline Sabai Social brings screen-free wellbeing into a shared experience, while across Australia, Fiji, the Maldives, Papua New Guinea and Samoa, Golden-Hour Social turns sunrise and sunset into opportunities to connect.
Local culture and craft shape the experiences elsewhere. The Philippines’ Kamayan Collective takes inspiration from communal dining; Vietnam’s Vietnamese Craft Journey brings local makers and traditions to the table; Japan’s Stillness & Craft celebrates quiet, hands-on making; and South Korea’s Fermentation Club explores kimchi, jang and makgeolli. In India and Sri Lanka, The Holistic Energy Exchange brings practices including breathwork and Ayurvedic botanicals into a more social setting.
Gatherings Come to Life Across APEC
While the themes are shared across markets, each Gathering will take on a distinct local character. In collaboration with local partners, participating hotels are translating them into activations shaped by their cities, communities and destinations.
Highlights include:
- Sheraton Kagoshima: A blind tasting of Kagoshima’s celebrated teas
- Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park: Sunset encounters with rooftop bees and freshly harvested honey
- Sheraton Saigon Grand Opera Hotel, Sheraton Hanoi Hotel, and Sheraton Grand Danang Beach Resort & Spa: A Vietnamese Craft Journey exploring Pháp Lam enamel art, Vietnamese lacquer, and Huế’s nearly 400-year-old Thanh Tiên paper-flower tradition
- Sheraton Grand Incheon Hotel: A hands-on Korean rice wine bread workshop featuring Ganghwa mugwort
Together, these Gatherings turn local traditions, craftsmanship and sustainability into welcoming opportunities for connection.
Designed for Lingering
Across hotels featuring the brand’s latest design, connected public areas offer welcoming settings for guests and locals to meet, linger and spend time together. Weekly Gatherings bring these spaces to life throughout the year, while November’s themed editions introduce locally led programming across the region.
At the heart of the lobby is the Community Table, a long, shared table designed for people to work, dine or meet, while &More by Sheraton brings food and beverage into the center of the experience throughout the day. Booths provide more intimate spaces for conversations and informal meetings, while Studios offer flexible settings for smaller groups. Together, these elements accommodate a range of ways to gather within one connected social space.
