The thoroughbred of Marriott’s convention hotel and resort offering, the chain’s Convention & Resort Network (CRN) sets the brand standard for its meetings- and convention-focused effort.
Encompassing 60 properties in the U.S., Mexico and the Bahamas, and boasting approximately 62,000 guest rooms and more than 6.7 million square feet of meeting space, the CRN promotes itself as the go-to source for planners wanting an efficient, upscale experience.
“What the CRN offers planners is really a high level of meetings expertise, superior technology in the building to facilitate good meetings, and tools that really help the planner,” says Mike Wainwright, vice president of sales strategy for Marriott Convention & Resort Network. “These are our big box hotels and our hotels that really make their living off of meetings and conventions. We have to execute and be the best at what we do, and we really have to rally around that customer promise, and that really is all around executing.”
Indeed, it’s the service that is really the hallmark of the brand. One example is Marriott’s Meetings Imagined website, which is loaded with tips to set up successful meetings, along with key availability dates.
I recently visited its Texas Hill Country properties in the San Antonio area and Austin, along with attending a briefing on their major project in Houston, to discover some of the premium services and facilities these best-in-brand hotels and resorts provide.
JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa
1,002 guest rooms; 37 meeting rooms; 265,000 square feet of space
Located about a half-hour north of San Antonio and an hour-and-a-half southwest of Austin, this convention- and family-friendly resort is undergoing a $16 million expansion of its meeting space and existing six-acre waterpark, scheduled for a spring completion.
According to Arthur Coulumbe, general manager of the property, the project will result in the resort being able to offer even more dedicated group space, besides the obvious leisure market benefits.
“We’re going to be able to provide a particular destination within our existing offering that will provide a conference center type of environment,” Coulumbe says. “Alongside that will be a best-in-class series of teambuilding activities and a physical space to hold these activities.”
The expansion will bolster the property’s existing 40,000-square-foot ballroom, 18 separate 1,000-square-foot conference rooms and 36 holes of world-class championship golf at two golf courses, designed by Pete Dye and Greg Norman.
Groups meeting here, as well as any of the other area CRN properties, can take advantage of the authentic Texas experience available via a partnership with Knibble Ranch, a working cattle ranch with a variety of cowboy-themed event opportunities located about 30 miles north of the resort.
San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter
1,001 guest rooms; 36 meeting rooms; 60,000 square feet of space
One of two CRN properties that are connected to each other and on San Antonio’s popular River Walk near the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, the 38-story Rivercenter underwent a $40 million renovation in 2012 and is a good option for larger groups who want close proximity to all of the action at San Antonio’s premier tourism draw.
San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk
512 guest rooms; 15 meeting rooms; 14,000 square feet of space
The sister property of the Marriott Rivercenter described as “the smaller hacienda across the street from the convention center,” Marriott’s first River Walk property benefited from a meeting space renovation in 2013, and can be paired with its bigger sister across the street to exponentially increase the meetings options.
JW Marriott Austin
1,012 guest rooms; 59 meeting rooms; 112,000 square feet of space
A new-build 34-story hotel that opened in February, the JW Austin is situated in the heart of the capital’s downtown. Highlights include the 30,000-square-foot JW Grand Ballroom, the 23,000-square-foot Lone Star Ballroom and 23,000 square feet of exhibit space. Like all of the CRN properties, F&B plays a huge part in this hotel, with standout restaurants that include the Italian Osteria Pronto and Corner Restaurant, with a Texas-sized tequila menu and tastings to show it off.
Marriott Marquis Houston (open fall 2016)
1,000 guest rooms; 52 meeting rooms; 100,000 square feet of space
This new property promises to transform Houston’s convention district scene. A convention center headquarters hotel and home base for Super Bowl LI, this contemporary-design 29-story focal point will boast a lower-level terrace complete with a Texas–shaped lazy river that will provide a unique event-buyout opportunity for groups.
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Marriott Convention & Resort Network
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