Marriott realized that the way people meet and work today had changed, but the question was how to respond. The answer, after 18 months of research, is Marriott’s Future of Meetings. Working with consultants at IDEO and office furniture company Steelcase, Marriott looked to reinvent the meeting experience at its full-service hotels.
“We really wanted to be thoughtful about how do we focus on the purpose of the meeting and what are ways we can help activate that—through food and beverage, the setup, the space,” says Peggy Fang Roe, 41, who led the effort as vice president of global operations services, Marriott International. “All of the concepts revolve around that.”
For small meetings, Marriott is testing its “Workspring at Marriott” concept in 5,000 square feet of meeting space at a Redmond, Washington, property. Marriott created five meeting spaces, including a social space where people can connect casually, all with more natural light, new color schemes, and residential-style furniture designed to improve productivity. A fixed price per person includes food and beverage, Wi-Fi, and audiovisual equipment.
For meetings of any size, the just-launched Red Coat Direct mobile app connects planners with hotel staff in real time in a digital expression of the company’s 50-year-old Redcoat meetings concierge service. It offers fast responses to common issues, such as changing the temperature of the room or ordering more coffee, and tracks response time and other metrics.
And more is in the works. “Our strategy is not to just pick one winner and be done,” Roe says. “It’s to continue innovating in all aspects.”
