Can version survive without its original creative force? Marriott thinks so

Hotels can be like fashion: One day you go in, the next day you leave.

For the world’s largest hotel company, the question is how to maintain the element of fun on Edition, which has arguably become their trendiest brand. Marriott launched the Edition in partnership with hotel and nightlife legend Ian Schrager, one of the co-founders of Studio 54. Edition currently has a footprint of 15 hotels worldwide and plans to increase double that number within 5 years. However, Schrager announced the plan last year to finally leaving the partnership with Marriott.

It seems like a quick acceleration and change could put the unique element of the Edition in jeopardy. Today, it’s like a deliberate growth scheme meant to keep each hotel in popular territory.

“You have to be capable, knowledgeable, and close enough to say, ‘Listen, if we’re really leading in our game, then you have to stay ahead of the game,’” Josh Fluhr said. play’. , senior vice president and global chief executive officer of Edition.

Recent openings include Version hotels in Tampa and Madrid. Marriott plans to bring the brand to other markets such as Rome; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Tokyo’s Ginza neighborhood; Mexican Riviera Maya in Kanai; and Singapore later this year. Property in Doha, Qatar; Nashville; Fort Lauderdale; and Lake Como, Italy, are also part of plans to have up to 30 hotels over the next five years.

In the past, there was a view that a large hotel group could not successfully run a good brand. For example, there are many who say that the classic, trendy Kimpton hotel brand has lost some of its advantages after the IHG takeover. Additionally, in many cases, Marriott executives note that there are plans to revive the W brand, which has lost its appeal after its heyday in the late 1990s and early 1990s. 2000.

However, Edition’s growth and success since its 2008 launch has left a huge hole in this cynical way of thinking.

Some of Marriott’s luck with the Edition may be related to what others see as inappropriate launch timing. The world fell into a global financial crisis shortly after Edition’s launch, and growth was much slower than expected. Leaders like the late Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson note that the brand will eventually have more than 100 hotels, but it appears the company is well timed to achieve that goal.

It turns out that slow and steady is the right strategy when it comes to the luxury and lifestyle Edition realm. With Schrager’s intense focus on design, Marriott’s hiring process for each Edition is more of a courtship than a job fair.

Success is always found in the details when it comes to the most famous brands.

Talent hunting version

An Edition’s recruiting team will begin about eight weeks before a hotel opens its doors to various nightlife venues for what it calls a “night hunt.” Small teams consisting of the management team of the new hotel as well as representatives of the Edition brand travel to different neighborhoods to find staff in restaurants, bars, shops and museums in order to Search for potential candidates for that city’s upcoming Edition Hotel.

“We go to any place where someone is interacting with other people in their role and you can see people who are excited about what they are doing,” says Fluhr. “People who are only there because they want a check: We deliver those. It’s like dating.”

Finally, the Editions team will connect with ideal candidates to see if they would consider working in the hospitality industry. Recruiters often rely on candidates hired on a one-night hunt to then spread the word about similar roles at New Edition hotels to friends or colleagues.

It also helps instill in the new management team a way to keep an eye on the top performers. That translates to excellent customer service at each Instance property. It’s a big part of keeping Edition ahead of the curve because, while guest rooms are important, downstairs restaurants and bars also drive pedestrian traffic into individual guests. hotel.

“You have a core group of people pretty quickly. You get 30, 40 or 50 like-minded people you’ve been looking for,” says Fluhr. “We still have to supplement with some other traditional methods.”

When Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano admits at the end of the year that the company did not renew its exclusivity agreement with Schrager, there were still several agreements with Schrager in progress before he left.

“We have 10 projects still working with him. I still talk to him every day, which is amazing,” said Fluhr. “The next up-and-comers will still have his absolute talent and flair with them.”

But what about the hotels out there? Sorenson famously pinned the success of Edition on Schrager in one 2015 interview with Charlie Rose.

“One of the debates between our group, hypothetically, was [around how] we just opened this hotel in New York,” Sorenson said at the time. “If we opened that exact box without Ian… would we get the same reception from the market? I think the answer is no. Ian allowed us to be in this space.

Of course, Edition isn’t exactly without a creative team following Schrager’s eventual departure. Fluhr has been with this brand since 2010. Before that, he was with SBE to launch SLS Beverly Hills. He even worked with W Hotels during the brand’s first entry into the hotel market in New York City.

“In the future, like every brand, it will continue to grow, but it will be a slow process. My wish has always been that with any brand I’ve worked with, it has to go through some kind of development, but it has to be a slow and deliberate process,” says Fluhr. “What you won’t see is a change in the way we deliver services. You will only see an increase or a decrease because we are always trying to make that better.”

“This is not going to be a radical shift from what we used to do last week to what we can do next week,” he added.