Marriott perks up Courtyard with edgier, more social style
Barbara De Lollis, USA TODAY, 4/1/2008
FAIRFAX, Va. — After catering to baby boomers traveling on business for 25 years, Marriott's revamping its Courtyard chain to lure younger generations who crave design, easy laptop use and lively lobbies.
In the revamped Courtyard here, the first of a new model, travelers no longer see a mammoth granite front desk, salmon overstuffed chairs, heavy drapes and a lobby that dies at night.
Instead, they see sleek, contemporary furniture; espresso-colored woods and vivid accent colors; marble-topped tables; real hardwood flooring; colored Italian glass pendant lamps; and a Starbucks-like counter that doubles as a lively cocktail bar.
"This was one of the original Courtyards. It's 24 years old," says Brian King, who took over running the chain about a year ago. "When you walk into the space, though, you don't see a 24-year-old hotel."
The makeover includes a new multiuse lobby with more seating choices, a new menu and a more social atmosphere in public spaces. It also includes a new look for guest rooms, such as new bedding.
In the hotel industry, Courtyard is known for inventing the business-traveler hotel category in the 1980s by first researching its target customer. By meeting business travelers' needs, the chain flourished to 714 U.S. hotels today. The average room cost $124 a night last year, up 6% from 2006.
But though it's Marriott's second-biggest chain after the full-service Marriott brand, even some Courtyard hotel owners say the makeover's needed. The chain was last overhauled in 2000, and it faces growing competition from new brands, such as Aloft and Hyatt Place, invented specifically for younger travelers.
Courtyard's biggest competitor, Hilton Garden Inn, is in the early stages of considering a lobby revamp, says Agnes Sibal, a spokeswoman for the chain. The Garden Inn chain's last major redesign was in 1997, and the lobby already has features such as free Wi-Fi and a social area called the living room that gets high marks in guest surveys, she says.
Courtyard had to respond with a new strategy because the trend in its category — midprice, limited service — is built around meeting current needs for free Wi-Fi in the lobby and the ability to order a glass of wine or a snack, says Robert Mandelbaum of PKF Consulting.
"It's a reflection of how people travel today and how people live today," he says. "Everyone's much more on the go."
Courtyard's been "missing out" on the trend of turning lobbies into social hubs, says Dilip Desai, whose company owns six Courtyards. Some lobbies are so dead that owners don't reopen their restaurant for dinner, he says.
In preparing to craft a new strategy, King returned to the chain's roots and delved into research.
Courtyard hired Ideo, a San Francisco design, research and strategy firm, to help understand what today's customers want. The firm talked to guests and other travelers and observed guests in the hotel's public spaces.
One guest told Ideo researchers that he felt like a stalker when sitting in the lobby because it's so empty. Another guest was observed waiting in line at the breakfast buffet simply to pick up an apple or yogurt. Research also revealed just how much handheld wireless devices had changed the business traveler's day. Instead of waiting to reach the hotel to plug in their laptop and start answering e-mail, they've already finished their work during the taxi ride, King says. "It is found time," he says. "Before, they were tethered to their room because of the laptop."
Based on the research, King crafted a makeover plan that emphasizes technology, style and service.
Under the new plan, for instance, hotels will replace the breakfast buffet with a Starbucks-style cafe that sells custom coffee drinks, quick meals and healthy snacks. People like getting served, and they like ordering exactly what they want, King says.
At night, the marble-topped counter becomes a cocktail bar. People are buying more — and hanging out more. The change is causing more people to buy their morning latte at the Courtyard instead of the nearby Starbucks, King says.
Other major changes to come:
• Sleek style. The future lobby will have furniture that's "modern, warm and approachable," rather than stark and severe. The new lobby chairs, for instance, have large cushioned seats, but they're not bulky.
Guests will also see architectural details, finishes, colors and textures that better resemble an upscale home design show rather than a chain hotel.
• More tech. The new lobby has more power outlets. It has large, semicircular booths, each with a flat-screen TV built in. A separate home-theater area features a 56-inch flat-screen TV. Near the check-in area, a large TV displays local information, such as weather, traffic, airport delays and local restaurants. Content can be navigated by touching the screen. There are two computers reserved strictly for printing out airline boarding passes to minimize waiting. Courtyard late last year stopped charging guests to use Wi-Fi in lobbies.
• Outdoor element. The courtyard becomes a new hangout, with European outdoor furniture, a fire pit, Japanese pottery and outdoor speakers.
So far, reaction has exceeded King's expectations. Customer Steve McGrady, 47, says he likes the openness and the clean lines. He says he'll pick a new Courtyard over rivals in the future.
Marriott plans to have 25 hotels converted to the new style this year, with the rest done by 2010. One of them will be Desai's new hotel in Newport News, Va.
A MOVING TARGET
Courtyard says research shows that its target customer has changed in fundamental ways:
New
Old
Sees travel as a break from routine
Sees travel as a necessary evil
Wants great service
Wants consistency
Likes little luxuries
Give me basics, without many frills
Will pay a little extra for favorite hotel
Wants good value
Visits bar and gym
No free time
Looks for reasons to leave room
Stays in room
Source: Marriott Courtyard