When promoting a new hotel, most companies trust the traditional forms of marketing—word of mouth, press releases and advertisements across varying media outlets. When Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide set out to launch its aloft brand, it undertook a completely new medium: Second Life.

Second Life is an Internet-based three-dimensional virtual world in which users create avatars, or characters, and the avatars live, work and play in the world. Residents in Second Life buy land with real U.S. money for houses or businesses, and also can sell their creations to other Residents.

Before the first hotel became a physical reality in June 2008, aloft hit the virtual world of Second Life in September 2006. Residents in Second Life could visit the hotel and also provide feedback on the design of the hotel. The progress of the virtual aloft was tracked on its blog.

“We received a tremendous amount of feedback from customers who were invited to view and experience the aloft hotel in Second Life,” said David Godsman, VP of global web at Starwood. “From comments about the lobby and common space to the colors we originally intended to use within the room, guests actively participated in the refinement and final product that is aloft Hotels.”

Although Godsman said the Second Life launch was more a research and development plan than a marketing ploy, he admitted the hotel gained hype. “The [public relations] exposure we received was enormous and enabled us to create a buzz well before doors opened on the first property,” he said.

When the first real-life aloft opened in Montreal (the first U.S. property opened in June as well, in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), the Second Life aloft closed its doors, making room for avatars to become real-life guests.