Marriott held an event in New York City featuring 13 Marriott Bonvoy Conference and Resort Network properties at an Elite Experience Suite at Marriott Marquis New York.
Marriott staged an activation inspiration event in New York City
What meeting planner doesn’t want to include a memorable experience for guests grounded in the elements that make a place unique and memorable? But who has time to source catering, decor and local experts for a reception?
Marriott Bonvoy Conference and Resort Network tasked its 125 properties with coming up with turnkey ideas to start conversations and featured 13 of them at an Elite Experience Suite at Marriott Marquis New York last week. Smart Meetings was there and came away with these aha moments.
Transformational Experiences Engage all the Senses
Reaching out to the chef wherever you’re hosting and talking about the possibilities for aligning with the event’s messaging could surface fresh wow moments. Marriott has spearheaded its very own, from The Sound of Taste: A Musical Culinary Experience that pairs regional songs and ingredients for chef and musical concierge-led harmony at The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa to chromatically crafted dining courses that match the hues in the dusky sky over the ocean from JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort.
Read More: Explore Smart Meetings Approved Experiences in SmartMarketplace
To make the experience more personal, JW Marriott Marco Island brought an aura reader to tap into the sense of wonder by interpreting colors triggered by energy from participant hands.
The sense of taste was also in play in the activation from Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile, where a blind pizza tasting featuring top deep dish entries from the City of Big Shoulders sparked passionate debate about the best pies.
For JW Marriott Parq Vancouver’s Veuve Cliquot picnic, the iconic orange of the bubbly brand brought immediate smiles.
Along with the flavored salts paired with cucumber and pineapple from Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, a healthy serving of storytelling about the history of salt to native Hawaiians added meaning to the interactive collecting and cooking activation. Trips to Kona Sea Salt Farm highlights the emphasis on local agriculture, culture and sustainable practices and ends with a healing foot soak.
The sweet smell of a chocolate sculpting master class from Chef Francois Behuet at JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. Live brought out the artist in planners creating their own masterpieces.
A sense of humor was on display in a bodega built into the New York Marriott Marquis ballroom right down to the out-of-order ATM machine, signed picture of Danny DeVito and a method actor cat named Georgie in a pink shopping basket.
Transport Them, Literally
Some of the properties showed how they move attendees physically, metaphorically and emotionally.
- Sheraton Grand Seattle featured a Pacific Northwest Adventure that brought attendees in by floatplane, took them for a cruise on Puget Sound and then offered VIP transportation to the property downtown.
- JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa brought the property’s dramatic speakeasy to New York City for a hidden Mexican Experience of mescal tasting and history. The adventure starts at check-in with a mystery to solve in a glow-in-the-dark ink and ends with a lesson in the finer points of the clear spirits.
- JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa helps usher guests to dreamland with a “sleepeasy” as part of a major spa renovation set to open in January. Targeted massages, sleepy teas, luxury eye coverings and even magnesium patches can be curated to help everyone dream easy and wake up refreshed.
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Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa JW Marriott Tampa Water Street brought the champion experience via words of wisdom from NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightening to sleep, nourish and train like the best athletes—because meeting is a competitive sport.
- JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes demonstrated how they bring a winter wonderland to Central Florida complete with snow on the hour, an outdoor ice skating rink and s’mores.
- Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa built a fluttery butterfly garden glimmering with finger sandwiches, elegant tea setting, a lush floral garden and real-time pictures of the monarch migration happening in Alabama on that beautiful October day.
Start the Conversation
While the menu of activations in the Event Experience Playbook would be a highlight for any gathering and can be plugged in as-designed, the point is to start a conversation with the convention services manager about what would work for a specific group’s goals, according to Amanda Cox, Marriott vice president of sales, convention and resort hotels, east region.
