Ian Schrager and Bill Marriott? Does anyone think this will work?

Andrew Calvo | August 26, 2007 | 0 Comments

One of the biggest news stories to come out of the hotel industry in the last few months is how Ian Schrager (of the Hudson, Cliffs, & Morgans hotel fame) is teaming up with Bill Marriott & Marriott Hotels to design and develop about 100 new boutique hotels worldwide. Marriott will be managing the hotels, as well as helping with development, whereas Ian Schrager will be designing the look, layout and feel of each individual hotel, each hotel will be unique and will be different.

From the outset – this seems like a great partnership.. Marriott has zero boutique hotels, compared to IHG (Hotel Indigo), Starwood (W Hotels), and the company desperately needs to freshen up its old line image and Ian Schrager finally gets an outlet to allow his creative mind roam free without worrying about development costs, management, etc – since Developers and Marriott will be handling those aspects, and Ian Schrager has always had difficulty with replicating his success on a grand scale.

So lets see, Ian Schrager, modern, contemporary, edgy, hotelier combining forces with Bill Marriott, old-line, stodgy, cookie-cutter hotelier (Granted – Bill Marriott is VERY successful, and does have quality brands, I’m not knocking him), and these people are supposed to work hand in hand?

I don’t think so.

Schrager is famous for being anal about everything – right down to the position of chairs in the lobby, and the attitude of the employees. Marriott is such a large organization that their employees are pretty much taught from a procedures manual. I can not figure out how a company like Marriott who is used to taking an idea, and replicating it thousands of times worldwide will mesh well with a designer like Schrager who is used to doing something different at every single hotel – cost or method doesn’t really matter.

A recent New York Times Article brought my concerns to light – and also gave me a better understanding of how Schrager ticks. There is no doubt in my mind that Schrager is a design and hotel industry genius – he knows what a segment of the industry likes, he can create great experiences and he can command high prices for those experiences, and he is very well known -but I find it hard to believe that it’s taken him this long to figure out or form an alliance with a major hotel company to replicate his plans on a grand scale.. There has to be a reason why – and I think it is because he is so difficult to work with. In fact, if I recall (please correct me if I’m wrong) I think when Barry Sternlicht first started W Hotels, he was initially going to team up with Ian Schrager.

Marriott on the other hand, while one of the largest hotel companies in the world is desperate. They have a lot of great, respected and established brands – brands well known worldwide, first and foremost, Marriott, as well as Courtyard, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Ritz Carlton (believe it or not – it is a Marriott brand), and a few more, but I think they are getting desperate. I completely agree with Schrager’s comment that Marriott is like Wal-Mart – they are everywhere, they all look the same, and they are easy to replicate throughout the US, but Marriott is getting left behind the competition.

And it’s all their own doing.

And I think it can all be traced back to one person – Bill Marriott.

Marriott has finally discovered how every other hotel company is evolving in today’s modern age, for example Starwood started aloft, & Element, purchased Le Meridien, and is expanding W in leaps and bounds. IHG started Hotel Indigo, which is finally picking up speed and standing on its own two legs, Wyndham has completely changed the name of their company, divested themselves of some brands and purchased existing brands, Hilton finally woke up and decided to exploit their namesake with the Waldorf=Astoria Collection, purchased Hilton International, allowing them to bring the DoubleTree, & Hampton Inn brands Worldwide, even Choice – the roadside budget hotel company with Econo Lodge, Comfort Inn, and Quality Inns is causing a ruckus with the Cambria Suites brand.. That leaves Marriott, who has just continued chugging along – sure they changed the prototype of Residence Inn, Spring Hill Suites, and Courtyard – but you know what? Those brands are still the same. There is nothing interesting about those brands. Nothing that says to me “WOW! I REALLY want to stay in a Courtyard” Unlike a W, or when the aloft and Element brands open – I will scope them out rather than stay in a Courtyard.

What Marriott needs is younger management. Bill Marriott is great man, and has been in the industry for decades, and in some ways has helped define it.. But his age is showing, he’s trying – have you seen his blog? I was shocked he even knew what a blog was, but I think it’s apparent that he records his message and someone types it, I’d be shocked if he even owns a computer – but I don’t think his attempts will cut it. Marriott needs newer, younger, and more forward thinking leadership – bringing in Schrager will only help them over the hump – but it wont get them out of the pit – and it might even make them get more stuck in the rut.

Now I’m not saying that Marriott has the potential to go out of business, or that their hotel owners will switch brands – that will not happen – it almost can’t happen, they are too well known, respected and big, but they run the risk of commoditizing themselves, which may not be a bad thing – but becoming a commodity will not greatly add to the bottom line, will not allow you to charge extra for the “experience”, and will not make people search you out when there are 4 other “hipper” hotel brands in the same business park.

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