Marriott likes what he sees at new hotel

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Marriott likes what he sees at new hotel

Thursday, April 26, 2001

By Dan Fitzpatrick, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

When Marriott International chief executive J.W. Marriott Jr. arrived in Pittsburgh yesterday to unveil the new Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel, he toured every corner of the 95-year-old building, from the laundry room to the presidential suite.

J.W. Marriott Jr. yesterday said he thought his chain's new Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel, Downtown, was beautiful. But what did he think of the building three years ago? "Not much," Marriott said. (Lake Fong/Post-Gazette)

What impressed Marriott?

The coffee makers.

When asked about his tour, Marriott talked first about a coffee-making machine he found hidden inside an armoire. To brew a cup, the guest needs only to open the armoire, pull out the drawer and flip a switch. In other hotels, Marriott said, "you have to pull it out yourself and reassemble it and put it somewhere else to make it work. Here, it was all in the drawer."

"I thought that was neat," he added.

When Marriott tours one of his company's 2,000 hotels, he looks for such details.

He likes order.

Marriott is a company that has a 66-step procedure for cleaning a hotel room in 30 minutes and recipe cards for the cooks. The chief executive, when he visits hotels, wants the linens to be crisp, the brass polished and the bathrooms neat.

He liked what he saw yesterday, during a grand opening of the 300-room Renaissance at Sixth Street and Fort Duquesne Boulevard. Originally built in 1906 by industrialist Henry Phipps, the building recently underwent a $45 million restoration. Denver developer Sage Hospitality Resources refurbished the marble-clad lobby, 30-foot-high glass atrium and the copper-and-granite facade.

Yesterday, hotel employees did their best to impress the 69-year-old chief executive.

Ballet dancers dressed in black leotards twirled streamers at the hotel's entrance. Inside, employees gathered on the balcony that overlooks the lobby. When Marriott stepped to the podium during a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the employees held letters spelling out "W-E-L-C-O-M-E -- B-I-L-L."

They also whooped and hollered.

"I'm glad I brought my own cheering club here," Marriott said.

Maryland-based Marriott International now has more than 2,200 hotels in 60 countries, meaning Marriott makes more beds each day than the U.S. Army. Marriott's mother and father started the company in 1927, turning a Washington, D.C., A&W Root Beer stand into a lodging, food service and restaurant empire. Their son became Marriott International's chief executive in 1972. He became chairman in 1985 after his father died at 84.

He purchased the Renaissance brand four years ago, paying $947 million. It now is one of the company's fastest-growing flags, with 13 new properties due to open this year. Marriott also operates hotels under several other names, including Residence Inn, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, Ramada International and Ritz-Carlton.

"It's always exciting to open a beautiful new hotel," he said yesterday. "I don't think I've ever seen one any prettier than this."

Marriott already operates Pittsburgh Marriott City Center and the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott. It also is planning three new Courtyard hotels by 2002. Marriott's chief executive first saw the future Renaissance hotel three years ago, while in town doing business with Mellon Bank. What did he think of it then?

"Not much," Marriott said.

The location had potential, though, with talk of new stadiums and an expanded convention center nearby. "But it was pretty hard to see it," he said. Now, he likes its chances. "I think this hotel, when it gets stabilized, should be the No. 1 hotel in the market."