Spring forward-fall back: How a big hotel handles twice yearly time changes

The Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, the third largest hotel in NYC, will spring into action for daylight saving time on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9 with a dozen proactive communications to guests.

Spring daylight saving time hits in the wee hours of Sunday morning and when clocks spring forward one hour at 2am, travelers staying in hotels can be impacted with late sleeping and rushing to make flights if their personal and hotel room time pieces are not adjusted.

With 1,781 rooms, the hotel makes a concerted investment to communicate the time change and activates nearly a dozen tactics to remind guests to "spring forward". The hotel works behind the scenes and directly to guests in the following ways: 

1. The large clock in the center of the hotel's lobby is spotlighted on March 9 and March 10 as a gentle time reminder to guests

2. Poster-sized reminder signs are posted in the lobby, which guests will see as they travel in/out of the hotel on Saturday evening

3. The 10×10 foot screen in the rear lobby of the hotel displays reminders about the time change

4. Guests checking in on Saturday and checking out on Sunday see time reminders on multiple digital LED screens positioned in the Reception Desk area

5. Letters from the general manager with a reminder about the time change are slipped under each of the hotel's 1,781 guestroom doors on Saturday evening

6. Voicemail reminders from the general manager appear on guestroom voicemails on Saturday evening

7. To keep time top-of-mind, Hudson Market burger restaurant plays time-themed songs all evening this weekend (from Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper to Clocks by Coldplay)

8. As a sweet consolation for losing an hour of time, anyone who purchases a burger at Hudson Market this weekend receives a complimentary thick shake with their meal

9. Each table in the hotel's Hudson Market restaurant on Saturday and Sunday will have hourglass egg timers and signage with reminders about turning clocks forward.

10. Housekeepers check and adjust more than 1,800 guestroom clocks (from in-room alarm clocks to kitchenette microwaves) on Sunday, March 10

11. The VIP Club Lounge and bar, which overlook the lights of Times Square, will remind feature with bar-top signs featuring time-change reminders, as well as hourglass egg timers

12. On Saturday and Sunday, each hotel associate at the front desk verbally reminds guests about the time change