WASHINGTON, D.C.—Marriott International celebrated the grand opening of its millionth U.S. guestroom early last week in Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood—not very far from where the company first began, President and CEO Anthony Capuano said at the ceremony.
The Canal House of Georgetown, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, is a “great representation” for the company’s millionth room in the country, Capuano told the crowd, especially given its location. Marriott, as a business, launched in 1927 as a nine-seat root beer stand in the D.C. area and became a hotel company 30 years later when the Marriott Motor Hotel opened in Arlington, Va. “What a journey it's been to get to a million rooms,” Capuano said. “These are tough hotels to birth.”
Filling a Void
The hotel is owned by Douglas Development and managed by TPG Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of Procaccianti Companies. Douglas Development has owned the Georgetown building for approximately 30 years, according to Managing Principal Norman Jemal. The structure had housed offices for “many years,” he said, but it had come to the end of its life cycle. “We looked at the various opportunities, and we felt a hotel would be special here.”
Once the team had decided to turn the office building into a hotel, they had to determine what kind of hotel it would be. Considering their options, they looked into various brands but also considered their central reservation systems. “In the end, Marriott stepped up in a very nice way, and we felt this was the best route to go, and we've been very pleased with the journey so far.”
The neighborhood did not, and does not, lack for accommodations, with a Ritz-Carlton and a Rosewood across the street and a Four Seasons nearby. “Those are pricey hotels,” Jemal explained. “We felt that there was an opportunity to create something at a more approachable price point—drafting, of course, off of the Marriott reservation system.” By adding an upscale, soft-branded property that is connected to one of the world’s biggest hotel companies, “we think we're filling a void in the market,” he added.
The partnership with Marriott also helped determine the hotel’s aesthetic and overall vibe, said Ben Perelmuter, president of TPG Hotels & Resorts. “The Tribute brand really tries to [incorporate] anything that's local,” he explained, noting that the sense of location is evident in the food-and-beverage programming at the property. “For a smaller boutique property, the menu is quite robust, and there's a theme that ties [it together] throughout that's localized.” Similarly, the hotel’s library evokes Georgetown’s historic buildings and classic style.
The design team incorporated roses—the flower of Washington, D.C.—into the decor for another localized element. The lobby, bar and restaurant are combined into one space that evokes a social club or private lounge, making the most out of the limited space. The F&B team in the C&O Restaurant (named for the nearby Chesapeake & Ohio Canal) said that the lounge is already getting repeat visits from locals.
Adapting and Reusing
While Douglas is “very adept” at conversions, having turned office buildings into “thousands of apartments over the years” and built several hotels—including an AC and a Moxy—the team had never built a property in Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio before. “For as much as we know about conversions, the expertise that the Marriott team brings to bear was very helpful.”
Of course, a hotel needs different structural elements than an office complex does, and the conversion required significant changes. For example, a ramp that went down to a garage with six parking spaces was removed in order to expand the lobby and move a lot of back-of-house spaces into the lower level.
The Douglas team also acquired two townhouses next door to the hotel and will be adding a third. The townhouses have duplex suites with private access from the street. “You can have that experience of living in Georgetown but staying at a hotel,” Perelmuter said. The additions helped take the hotel from 80 rooms to 108—“and I don't have to tell you about the efficiencies of that,” Jemal said.