Marriott Needs to Revamp Its Dining Strategy — and Knows It
Photo Credit: The bar at The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin. Marriott is investing heavily in its food and beverage outlets around the world, but especially at the luxury hotels it manages. Mariott International
Skift Take
So does everyone else in the hotel business these days. Hotel companies like Marriott certainly have the scale and financial backing to improve hotel dining, but do they have the passion or creativity to mimic the independent restaurants they're trying to imitate? And will diners be able to taste the difference?
Marriott International executives know what people have thought about its dining options for the past few years or, well, decades. Namely, that the food and bar options were likely consistent and convenient, but that's simply code for "boring" and "uninspired."
They are so aware of this commonly held conception of the hotel restaurant — a concept not solely limited to Marriott itself but to nearly every major hotel chain — that for the past few years, they've worked hard to try to transform the very idea of what a good, no, exceptional hotel dining outlet should be.
"I do think the perception of the company and where we are, from an F&B [food and beverage] standpoint is five years in the past," said Dave Grissen, Marriott International group president. "We want to catch up to everyone a bit to where we are and where we want to go."
Just a few days prior, Grissen stood before a crowd of more than 100 investment analysts at Marriott's biannual investor day presentation in New
