Built in 1926, the Sheraton Commander is the oldest franchise in the Starwood Hotels & Resorts portfolio. Home to 5,500 square feet of meeting and event space, the Cambridge, Massachusetts hotel hosts over 1,500 events per year.
Located on the historic Cambridge Common, and surrounded by Harvard, MIT, Lesley and Tufts, Director of Catering & Event Management, Judy Brillhart, CSEP, PBC notes that, “we are in the fortunate position of being our community’s go-to venue. Weddings, social, non-profit, higher education, and corporate events all come through our doors.”
“Many of our events fall under the wedding and higher-ed fundraising categories, so Social Tables’ Attendee Manager function has been critical to our seating success,” says Brillhart. Once the diagram has been made, the Sheraton Commander team will invite their clients to collaborate with them on seating by uploading the guest list on their own. “We’re able to save ourselves time by sharing that responsibility with our clients,” she notes. “They love being empowered to seat their guests in the manner that they want, and we love the fact that they are invested in the event.”
Once guests have been seated in the software, Brillhart’s team distributes the list to a local seating card vendor, adding special attention to detail to the event. “Social Tables is a collaborative tool that is intuitive and easy to use that allows us to collaborate with our vendors, staff and clients to produce a seamless event. It helps us be more effective and efficient for every party involved in our events.”
