Hospitality Design - July 2015 - 167

2
3

4

5
University in the UK, finishing her degree
in interior design at what is now Marymount
University in Arlington, Virginia.
Wilson hired Sarah Smallwood as senior
interior design manager for the global design
strategies group (following Smallwood's
stints at Degen & Degen, Callison, Rockwell
Group, and a masters of fine art in design

2. A guestroom
rendering from the
Krause + Sawyer
redesign of the Atlanta
Marriott Marquis.

4. A seating area in the
airy atrium of Grand
Cayman Marriott Beach
Resort, also designed
by EDG.

3. A masculine feel
pervades in Poet's
Corner lounge at
the EDG-designed
Baltimore Marriott
Waterfront.

5. Marriott's model
room, where a window
seat exemplifies
the brand's new
architecturally driven
design direction.

management from Savannah College of Art
and Design) and the two designers-along
with supporting groups including Marriott
research, brand, project management, and
estimating teams-have been focused on
a design strategy overhaul for more than
two years.
Wilson and Smallwood first built
room components out of easy-to-move
and scale foam core in the bottom floor
of the company's Bethesda, Maryland
headquarters. They brought in potential
and existing customers of varying ages
from across the U.S. to give feedback before
building out a full test room at headquarters,
and a model room at the Marriott Grand
Cayman, which they debuted to owners
and franchisees at Marriott's annual North
American conference in December 2013.
"We had to help them understand it's no
longer a Marriott package. It's based on a
custom design direction," says Wilson. Some
new elements are immediately evident, like
the shift away from carpet to hard surface
flooring in guestrooms, which feels cleaner,
Wilson says.
Bathtubs are also mostly eschewed,
as research showed customers preferred
walk-in showers. The team even conducted
a shower study where they invited six
or seven manufacturers to build out the
bathroom. "We challenged each with a price
point to meet but didn't restrict them in
their creativity," Wilson says. The designs
informed the final decisions for the revamp.

The key tenet of the overhaul, which
also encompasses the hotel's public spaces,
is architecturally driven design. "We're
requiring designers build in features to give
visual dimension and layering," Wilson says.
"In the model room we've done a sectional
sofa inside a wood wrap detail at the back
section of the room that frames the window
opening," Smallwood says. "There's a lot of
flexibility."
What they're calling the Marriott
Modern design strategy guides an owner
and design team through the key concepts
they need to develop for their projects. Then,
Wilson explains, "they can adapt to their
particular location and the guestroom size
and conditions." One of the best things for
design firms working on Marriott properties
is that it allows them "to be as creative as
they possibly can, which makes the jobs
more exciting," Wilson says.
Wilson and Smallwood are now updating
and evolving the design strategy for JW
Marriott, expected by 2020 to grow to 106
properties in 32 countries. While its strategy
is still very strong, Wilson wants to move it
forward, "developing it further to keep up
with current design directions," she says.
The guidelines, expected to launch late this
summer, will be a series of videos designers
can access through an online portal. "We
want them to be excited about the direction
so we get good firms vying to work on our
hotel projects," she says. hd

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