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Innovation

How Marriott is designing a smarter business hotel

With some help from Steelcase, the hotel and resort company is redefining hotels as workspaces.
Written by Sun Kim, Contributor

Hotels that bill themselves as business hotels usually mean efficiently sized rooms at rates that fall within allowable per diems. The actual amenities for conducting business are limited to conference rooms and lobbies, spaces that aren't conducive to the actual activities of working.

In an effort to redefine the future of how hotels can be used for business, Marriott Hotels & Resorts built a prototype for the hotel industry’s first "purpose-built suite of meeting spaces" in the Redmond Marriott Town Center, outside of Seattle.

Developed with workplace furniture gurus Steelcase, Workspring at Marriott offers co-working spaces, project rooms, meetings rooms, and event spaces. The work-oriented suites include all the requisite features like a concierge, wireless internet access, office supplies, and refreshments. The arrangement of the spaces is meant to encourage collaboration among guests.

“We are seizing the opportunity to offer the new generation of travelers a small meetings environment built to suit their collaborative work style,” said Paul Cahill, senior vice president of brand management for Marriott Hotels & Resorts. “While some competitors may have nibbled around the edges with incremental and tactical changes, Marriott Hotels & Resorts is leading with a strategic approach to small meetings that hotel guests and nearby businesses will find very appealing.”

The move is a smart grab for the market that can't be covered by convention centers, traditional business and airport hotels, and independent co-working centers.

A flythrough of the space can be seen on the website.

A Dream Come True For Business Travelers, Courtesy Of Marriott and Steelcase [Architizer]

Image: Marriott

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

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