Lobby Libraries—Jane K Lee

My role

Partnership Strategy
Brand Strategy
Experience Programming
Editorial Strategy
Global Campaign Leadership

The Opportunity

Sheraton calls itself “The World’s Gathering Place,” and Reese’s Book Club is, at its core, a community built around gathering people through stories. When Sheraton proposed bringing Lobby Libraries into its redesigned hotels, the connection felt right.

The opportunity was bigger than placing books in a lobby. My job was figuring out how to bring the full Reese’s Book Club experience into Sheraton’s world—the stories, authors, recommendations, programming, and sense of discovery—in a way that felt natural to both brands.

Designing the Space

I spent a lot of time reviewing renderings with the Sheraton and CAA teams, thinking through how Reese’s Book Club could feel genuinely at home in the lobby rather than simply added onto it. We considered everything from bookshelf height and book selection to signage, branded details, and how readers would actually move through the space.

My favorite detail was the bookmark chandelier. It was intricate, unmistakably bookish, and still felt completely at home in a hotel lobby. That balance became the creative goal for the partnership: make the experience recognizably Reese’s Book Club without interrupting the world Sheraton had already built.

Jane arranging Reese’s Book Club picks on the Lobby Library shelves — Making the space feel like Reese’s Book Club · Photo: Jennifer Chong

An open book with a Reese’s Book Club and Sheraton bookmark — Lobby Library details · Photo: Jennifer Chong

Programming the Partnership

The Lobby Library gave us a physical home, but the partnership needed reasons for readers to keep coming back. I helped develop and oversee monthly and seasonal programming that extended across Pick of the Month events, book clubs, author conversations and signings, recommendations, community activities, newsletters, editorial storytelling, social content, and gifting.

The programming also changed by market. London had its own locally relevant selections and author moments, publisher meetings, and book-themed food and drink ideas. The goal wasn’t to replicate one activation around the world—it was to keep the central idea consistent while letting each city reflect its own literary community.

Readers gathering together with books inside the Lobby Library — The library in use · Photo: Jennifer Chong

04 · Three Cities, One Idea

The partnership evolved as it traveled.

Los Angeles

The first chapter.

We launched at Sheraton Grand Los Angeles with Tia Williams and Tembi Locke, readers, and press gathered inside the new Lobby Library. It was the first time the authors had met in person—and the first proof that the space could become more than a bookshelf: a place for conversation and discovery.

Toronto

Programming takes the lead.

Timed to the release of our January Pick, First Lie Wins, Toronto leaned more heavily into live author programming. I moderated a conversation with Ashley Elston and Marissa Stapley, bringing the editorial side of the partnership directly into the guest experience.

London

Part of the literary calendar.

London became the most locally embedded expression of the partnership, aligning with London Book Fair and World Book Day. I moderated a conversation with Jojo Moyes and Bolu Babalola, bringing authors, readers, publishers, and Sheraton together around the city’s existing literary energy.

Bookmark chandelier hanging above the Reese’s Book Club Lobby Library in Toronto — Bookmark chandelier · Toronto · Personal archive

Ashley Elston and Marissa Stapley speaking together at the Toronto Lobby Library event — Toronto author programming · Personal archive

Guests gathered for author programming at the Toronto Lobby Library — Community gathering · Toronto · Personal archive

What Happened

A gathering that traveled across three international markets and a full year of programming, reaching audiences far beyond the hotel lobbies themselves.

3 citiesLos Angeles · Toronto · London
4.6MVideo views
3.9MSocial reach
2.5MStories reach
663KNewsletter opens
57%Average newsletter open rate
100+Stories supporting the partnership
1 yearGlobal partnership

What Stayed With Me

The project started as a question about how Reese’s Book Club could live inside a hotel lobby, but it ended up stretching my role too. I went from reviewing renderings and planning programming to moderating author conversations and shaping how the partnership showed up differently in each market. The best partnerships don’t just share space—they create a new reason to use it.

The partnership became stronger once we stopped thinking about “bringing Reese’s Book Club into Sheraton” and started thinking about what the two brands could create together that neither would have made alone.

A new chapter in the world’s gathering place.