Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Steelcase Collaborate to Innovate on the Future of Meetings and Work
Marriott Hotels & Resorts, along with funisher Steelcase and design consultancy IDEO, have announced a collaboration to design, create and test innovative concepts and solutions for the future of work and meetings in hotels. The collaboration comes to life with a showcase of these potential solutions unveiled at the Marriott Hotels & Resorts Global General Manager Conference in Los Angeles.
"By 2013, almost 35 percent of the global workforce will work without an office. We are designing hotels for a new generation that is used to working how, where and often times whenever they want," says Paul Cahill, senior vice president, Brand Management, Marriott Hotels & Resorts. "Marriott Hotels & Resorts is the leader in hospitality, and no one understands the changing nature of work better than Steelcase. Together, along with IDEO, we are excited to collaborate on the Future of Work, a working innovation lab designed to create solutions that innovate, elevate and evolve the hotel work experience."
With mobile technology, the world is becoming interconnected and people need the right blend of spaces and solutions to support their different work needs throughout the day –wherever they are. Whether staying at a hotel individually or attending a meeting or conference, business travelers need spaces that offer them choice and control for quiet, individual work in comfortable and inviting public spaces or collaborative settings for groupwork with colleagues. Leveraging unique insights from IDEO and Steelcase, Marriott Hotels & Resorts aspires to revolutionize hosted work environments in hotels, while opening a dialogue around the evolving needs, desires and mindset of the Gen X and Gen Y global business traveler.
The Future of Work Innovation Co-Labs at the General Mangers Conference showcases ten prototypes that create new technology, space, and service experiences for meetings and work. Marriott Hotels & Resorts general managers are experiencing the prototypes, offering immediate feedback, and ultimately helping ‘co-create’ meeting experiences of the future in real time.
With its innovation and design heritage, IDEO helps companies visualize new directions that often lead to new products and service offerings. Their contributions in behavioral research and the science behind how people work have been a critical success factor for Marriott International brands in the past.
Today’s work is more global and more social, and a new generation of workers demand and expect solutions that enable them to be untethered and collaborative. With the first phase of this collaboration under way, Marriott Hotels & Resorts demonstrates its deep commitment to re-imagining hospitality for a new generation of global travelers.