• Glitz Gone: The décor is elegant but simple in both interiors and public spaces. Some may not like it but no carpeting in the guest rooms.

• Enter Intimacy and Inclusivity: Andaz, according to its mission statement, aims for "inclusivity and interactivity" That means no check-in desks; instead hosts take guests through a streamlined arrival process and right to their rooms.

• No Nickel and Diming: All complimentary: non-alcoholic mini-bar beverages and snacks; WiFi throughout; and local calls.

• Affordable Restaurant: Wall & Water, the hotel's restaurant, keeps up with the trends in serving locally sourced and seasonal food. But menu prices are far from stratospheric for Manhattan.

Through the year, Luxury Travel 360 regularly published articles about promotions that were creative - and that worked effectively to generate ROI in the form of business driven, publicity garnered, image enhanced, etc. We went back to some of these promotions to see if they were still in place, and still creating brand buzz, or if they had ended to make way for other initiatives.

Here's an update on the staying power of several innovative promotions we covered.

Ritz-Carlton Chicago's  "Stay As Long As You Like" program enables guests to store clothing and other items (including, in one case, a Christmas tree) to ease their packing and unpacking chores.

According to Michele Grosso, the general manger, "The program continues to be an extremely popular service for our frequently returning guests. We have storage closets full of their clothing and other items -- one guest even stores a guitar with us. We not only store their items, we place them in the guest rooms according to their preference. And when they leave, we pack up the items for them.

It's not Kentucky Fried but it might be "Slow-Roasted Lemon Pepper Chicken" - to go. It's all about Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta's Dial and Dine Promotion.

  Park 75 is the hotel's four-star restaurant. Each week, the culinary team, led by executive chef Robert Gerstenecker, came up with a meal they'd like to eat at home with their own friends or family. A new menu went up on the hotel's web site each week, and diners placed orders on Wednesday for a Friday pick-up. The tab: $25 per meal..

Even the most alluring hotels face issues of seasonality; here's how one French property deals with brief lulls.

You can't argue with the fact that the imposingly named Hostellerie de Crillon La Breve in Provence is a unique property - with rooms in seven vintage houses, sitting on top of a hill with a garden in the middle. It also boasts membership in the elite Relais et Chateaux.

But come the late fall, there is traditionally a dip in travel to Europe and that is where Hostellerie de Crillon pulls out all stops in appealing to the taste buds of its gourmet clients.

Every year in late October longtime chef Philippe Monti opens the doors of his kitchen to welcome one or two small groups for a week of culinary exploration. "Cooking in Provence" is a hands-on program that combines plenty of time in the kitchen with excursions to markets, vineyards, cheesemakers and into the mysterious world of the black truffle.  See how it works here.