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Doorman Michael Buckner greets arriving and departing guests. |
Q + A
WITH J.W. MARRIOTT
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By Bob Schaper
Embedded in the gleaming polish of the future, one can also see
the past. Whether strolling through the three-story atrium restaurant,
or being wowed by the vaulted ceiling and 12-foot windows of the
rooftop Crystal Ballroom, the Renaissance Grand Hotel delivers on
its name.
First opened in 1917 as the Statler Hotel, the property—now part
of the Marriott chain—has just completed a $265 million renovation.
Located at 800 Washington Ave., directly across from America’s Center
convention complex, the 916-room facility also features more than
70,000 square feet of meeting space.
Before the grand-opening celebration April 16, St. Louis Commerce
Magazine had the opportunity to sit down with legendary hotel
magnate J.W. “Bill” Marriott Jr., chairman and CEO of Marriott International
Inc. In high school and college, Marriott worked in his father’s
Hot Shoppes restaurant chain. After serving as a naval officer for
two years, he joined the company full time in 1956, taking over
the company’s Twin Bridges Motor Hotel in Arlington, Va.—Marriott’s
first venture into the lodging industry.
Under his leadership the company has grown from one hotel to nearly
2,600 in 67 countries. With a dozen-plus brands, including Renaissance,
the company generated more than $19 billion in 2002 sales.
"I
THINK THE BUSINESS IS CONTINUALLY EVOLVING. WHAT WE
WANT TO DO IS STAY UP WITH THOSE CHANGES. WE HAVE
A LARGE NETWORK OF CONVENTION HOTELS. WE'RE IN EVERY
MAJOR CITY IN THE COUNTRY. WE ARE INTERESTED IN BUILDING
WHEREVER WE CAN PURSUE GOOD BUSINESS."
J.W. Mariott
Jr.
chairman and CEO,
Marriott International Inc.
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Soft-spoken and impeccably mannered, Marriott, 71, discussed the
new hotel, St. Louis and the hard-hit tourism industry.
COMMERCE: Now that you’ve had a chance to see the finished
project, what do you think of the Renaissance Grand?
JWM: I think it’s a magnificent
hotel—one of the top three properties in the company. It captures
the spirit of Renaissance. This isn’t your typical Marriott hotel—or
your typical Renaissance. But there is no such thing as a typical
Renaissance. The one thing you want to have consistent in the Renaissance
is the service.
COMMERCE: What impact will the Renaissance
Grand have on the convention and tourism industry in St. Louis?
JWM: This is badly needed for
the city. Before, it was very hard to book groups at the convention
center. The key to this hotel is how much energy the convention
center can generate. They missed their (booking) goal by 50 percent
last year. They’ve got to step up, because St. Louis is such a wonderful
alternative destination to Chicago.
COMMERCE: Sounds like you’re familiar
with St. Louis. Have you traveled here often?
JWM: We opened our first hotel
here in 1972, the Airport Marriott. My father came here for the
grand opening, and the reporters kept asking him, ‘Why are you opening
a new hotel next to Lambert Field? Don’t you know the new airport
is going to be in Illinois?’ When we were alone he pulled me aside
and said, ‘What are they talking about?’ (Laughing) I said,
‘Don’t worry, the airport’s not moving.’ Thank goodness it didn’t.
The restored elegance and 1920s opulence is captured
in the lobby of the Renaissance Grand Hotel. |
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COMMERCE: There
seems to be larger, convention center hotels going into smaller
metropolitan areas. Is this a trend?
JWM: It depends on the action
of the city. Schaumburg is a suburb of Chicago, not a very big city,
but they’re getting ready to build a convention center. And it’ll
be good, because a lot of people don’t want to fight that downtown
traffic. I think the business is continually evolving. What we want
to do is stay up with those changes. We have a large network of
convention hotels. We’re in every major city in the country. We
are interested in building wherever we can pursue good business.
COMMERCE: Like a lot of sectors,
the convention and tourism business is rather flat at the moment.
Do you foresee a turnaround?
JWM: This is the worst hotel
market in 50 years. You have to say this is an aberration— you’re
not going to have a perfect storm every year. You’ve got the stock
market crash, you’ve got the recession, you’ve got the war and now
you’ve got SARS coming out of Asia. So it’s the perfect storm, but
storms come and they go. You’ve got to take the long view.
COMMERCE: How long will it take to
make a profit on the Renaissance Grand?
JWM: It’s going to take a while
here. But you have to take an eternal view of this business. To
build a hotel takes two or three years. And when you build it, it’s
going to take two or three years to ramp it up to where it’s profitable.
This has always been the case.
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J. W. Marriott greeting St. Louis Renaissance Grand
employees as they welcome him on ribbon-cutting day. |
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COMMERCE: Overall, are you pleased
with the Renaissance brand and it’s placement within the Marriott
chain?
JWM: Marriott (Int’l) is performing
very well within our sector. We’ve got more than 500 Marriott hotels,
and I don’t see any reason why Renaissance can’t grow as big. It’s
got a good niche; it appeals to a different class of traveler than
the Marriott.
COMMERCE: Is Marriott interested
in acquiring any new brands?
JWM: I never say never, but
right now I don’t see it.
COMMERCE: One last question. Beyond
the Renaissance Grand, do you have any other immediate plans for
the St. Louis area?
JWM (Laughing):
This hotel is our immediate plan.
Bob Schaper is a free-lance writer based in St. Louis. |
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