Umbrellas are so 20th century.
Now the concierge at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Houston is offering guests the use of a Selfie Stick so they can capture special moments in the Bayou City.
Hotel staffers started lending out the device that attaches to a cellphone to provide a wider range view of the subject when taking a photo around two weeks ago after noticing guests snapping selfies in the lobby, says Laura Pettitt, the hotel's director of public relations.
"Especially when you travel, it's important to get a good photo," she says.
The Associated Press mentioned the hotel's newest amenity in a recent story titled, "Selfie Sticks: Tourist Convenience or Purely Narcissi-Stick?," and since then the response has been overwhelming, Pettitt says, with stories on the NBC Nightly News and in publications as far away as New Zealand.
"Especially when you travel, it's important to get a good photo."
She points out it's been a boost for Houston, too, as guests have taken the Selfie Sticks outside the hotel and posted some great shots of downtown Houston and Discovery Green on social media channels.
"We try to keep ahead of trends of what our customers need when they stay with us," Pettitt says. "And with social media, it's important to them and to us that they're enjoying their stay."
In addition to the Selfie Sticks, the hotel concierge does continue to keep a supply of umbrellas for rainy Houston weather. Some things never go out of style.
Four Seasons Hotel employees snap a selfie in the lobby. Guests can borrow a Selfie Stick from the concierge.
