Chris Crowell

There is a material change in the way hotel developers are doing business today. Hotel owners are looking inward, examining their own portfolios and determining how to keep hotels atop their respective markets.

In today's marketplace, brand loyalty is fickle. The antidote the industry has turned to is the loyalty program, and at the heart of a loyalty program rests the simple goal: incentivize customers to stay with a brand.

Take a peek at the financial story of the $50-million Granite Falls Inn and Conference Center. Will Robert Fowler, manager at Prince Edward Development, acquire all he needs to make the deal work?

Casinos no longer are dark, smoky, windowless areas meant to encourage an isolated gambling experience. More states and cities have legalized gambling and casinos are popping up across the U.S. Casinos are mainstream, and that must be reflected in the design.

In one of my final duties for our In Your Shoes program at the Mystic Marriott (Conn.), I turned my back on my journalistic roots and went on a few sales calls.

No brand; no loan. That is the prevailing sentiment Robert Fowler, manager of Prince Edward Development, has received from banks in his pursuit of the Granite Falls Inn and Conference Center development.

One of my great fears in life has always been food service. So I walked into Day 3 of my In Your Shoes experience at the Mystic Marriott (Conn.) much less enthusiastic because it was filled with work in the kitchen.

I couldn't have a real hotel working experience without trying my hand in laundry and housekeeping--the backbone of the hotel. And I learned a valuable lesson from the experience: I can't even cover a pillow.

Associate Editor Chris Crowell kicks off H&MM's In Your Shoes campaign live from the Mystic Marriott (Conn.), where he has already set out to win an iPod for offering exceptional guest service.

The road from hotel concept to opening day often is a long one. In this multi-part series, HotelWorld Network follows one of these projects--The Granite Falls Inn and Conference Center--to its completion, documenting the design, development, construction, finance and brand issues along the way.