Founded in 1927, Marriott International is looking to breathe new life into its historic brand, from check-in to F&B. The company has launched an Innovation Lab in its Bethesda, Md., headquarters, as well as an online portal for crowdsourcing ideas and soliciting guest feedback.
Part of an industry-wide push to attract millennial-generation guests, many of the new ideas center around technology, iPads, Wi-Fi and flexibility.
The physical “lab” is a 10,000-square-foot underground space that is essentially a blank canvas, designed to be versatile and easily transformed to test new ideas, from guest room furniture to meeting space configurations.