How Marriott Plans to Boost Its Dining Strategy
Photo Credit: Chef Sherene Hutchinson of Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort plates her final dish prior to being named Marriott’s Culinary Master of the Craft. Marriott International
Skift Take
Everyone in the restaurant industry wants a piece of that hotel money. But for the hotel brands, the bigger challenge is making sure that their dining concepts aren’t the same old, boring ones they’ve always had — and convincing both diners and chefs to buy in.
When Dave Grissen, Marriott International group president, stood before a crowd of hundred of investment analysts in New York City at the company's biannual investor day presentation, he not only highlighted why food and beverage is so important to the world's largest company, he told them how Marriott planned to make those programs even better.
Just days after Grissen's presentation, Skift Table spoke with Grissen and Matthew Von Ertfelda, Marriott International senior vice president of food and beverage and global operations, to learn more about just how Marriott intends to grow and improve its dining options in more than 10,000 restaurants and bars around the world.
Digging into R&D
For one thing, Marriott is committed to taking a hands-on approach to testing and developing new concepts.
In 2016, the Charlotte City Center Marriott was redesigned completely to serve as a sort of working hotel laboratory for the Marriott brand and it's an appro
