The FINANCIAL — Marriott International, Inc. continues to expand its offerings to business travel professionals, according to Brian King, the company’s Global Officer, Brand Management & Global Sales, in a speech at the Global Business Travel Association’s annual convention in Denver, Colorado, on July 18.
“Marriott International is in the midst of one of its most exciting periods ever for business travel professionals,” King said. “In the coming year, we’ll be unveiling scores of new luxury and lifestyle properties and significant new ballrooms worldwide, but also new guest experiences for valued, tech-savvy road warriors across our portfolio of brands.”
Currently, Marriott is innovating across its system with:
Mobile Check-in and Check-out: Marriott International – including Marriott Hotels, the industry’s first and largest brand to offer mobile services – now offers guests this high-tech check-in/ check-out option across 4,200 hotels globally. The company recently surpassed the 12-million mark for mobile check-ins and check-outs.
Netflix In-Room Entertainment: An industry first, Marriott Hotels now provides guests with the ability to log onto their Netflix accounts or start a new one on in-room TV screens in more than 300 hotels globally. This is a popular option for guests who love watching “Orange is the New Black,” “House of Cards” and other streaming entertainment.
MeetingsImagined.com: Marriott International’s visual, social and collaborative website unites meeting planners with more than 750 of its hotels. It also provides more than 4,000 images to spark the imagination, as well as tips, quizzes and trend-related articles about everything from the hottest new cocktails to the latest technology trends needed to create experiences that clients will find both inspiring and engaging.
Beta Hotel: Next month, when Marriott unveils a hotel designed to test new ideas and technology, planners will be able to see Marriott’s vision for next-generation meeting space and experiences. Among the concepts to be tested: An interactive pre-function space that resembles a high-end residential kitchen and a next-generation boardroom with unexpected natural light and cutting-edge touchscreen monitors.
This year also marks an active period for meeting space expansion, with several high-profile projects underway worldwide. Among them:
Expansion of Gaylord Hotels: Construction commenced on the new, 2-million-square-foot Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Aurora, Colorado. Once completed in late 2018, Gaylord Rockies will be the largest combined hotel and convention center in Colorado. At the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center near Washington D.C., construction commenced on a freestanding, 23,000-square-foot ballroom overlooking the Potomac River, set to open in July 2017. At the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center near Dallas, work began on a $120 million expansion that will add 86,000 square feet of meeting space including a new ballroom in 2019, according to Marriott International.
More Luxury and Lifestyle Hotels in More Destinations: Marriott plans to open more than 100 luxury and lifestyle hotels in the next 12 months, with the iconic Ritz-Carlton brand arriving in new locations such as Langkawi, Malaysia, known for its white-sand beaches. In the next year, customers will also see the global expansion of AC by Marriott in countries such as Mexico, Brazil and Germany; the arrival of three new JW Marriott locations in China, and new locations for the sassy and fresh Moxy brand sprouting up all over Europe.
