Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort: A Private Oasis
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Written by Ashley McGown   
Sunday, 01 March 2009
Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort: A Private Oasis
A $220 million renovation and a strong team of employees helped reposition this island resort as one of Florida's most worthwhile.
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In the hospitality industry, the right location will help attract guests to the area, but it also breeds stiff competition among hotels. As the market changes and grows, companies often resort to major construction projects to enhance their amenities, and this Florida resort is no different.    

Marco Island Marriot Beach Resort (MIM) has undergone major changes since its humble beginning as a motel in the 1960s. Located in Southwest Florida, Marco Island is a popular family vacation destination, and in 2004, a $220 million renovation transformed MIM into one of the area’s greatest attractions.

Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort: A Private Oasis
Rick Medwedeff, general manager
“Competition on both coasts of South Florida is difficult,” said Rick Medwedeff, general manager. “The area is full of beach resorts, so it’s important for our organization to stand apart from the rest.”

One of the most distinguishing amenities MIM offers is its private beach, which takes up a significant portion of the island’s three miles of sand and is the largest in Florida. Because the hotel was established before the Jimmy Carter Wetland Laws were implemented, it’s the only property on Marco Island that doesn’t have protective vegetation separating it from the beach.

Properties founded after the laws were instated are required to build boardwalks or grassland to serve as a barrier between it and the sand. “We’re fortunate that we were established when we were,” Medwedeff said. “Our set up is convenient for our guests, and it’s more aesthetically pleasing.”

From the outside, in
Despite its ideal location, the team at MIM decided the hotel needed a makeover to improve its image and enhance its amenities, so in 2004, the group embarked on a $220 million renovation project.

The undertaking impacted all aspects of the resort, including the pool area and retail establishments. According to Medwedeff, MIM’s three pools play an essential role in each guest’s overall
experience. Located next to the beach, each of the pools caters to
a different population.

“One of our pools is very high profile,” Medwedeff said. “It’s the first thing guests see when they walk into the resort, and the beach is visible right behind it.” To enhance the visual, Medwedeff and his team pushed the pool further west during the renovation.

This tweak opened an area on one side, which allows the resort to host outdoor functions without shutting down any of the pool deck area. The space, called Sunset Terrace, is one of two outdoor terrace meeting spaces at the resort that can accommodate up to 800 people.

“This one part of the project has tripled the size of the pool, created an unobstructed view of the Gulf of Mexico, and opened up additional outdoor meeting space,” Medwedeff said. “Planning the renovation, we tried to imagine how each venture would effect different areas of the resort.”

A strong culture
For the executive team at MIM, retaining staff has never been an issue. Many of the resort’s employees have been there for decades. Medwedeff, who has been with Marriott corporate for 26 years, said this is not uncommon for the brand.

“Bill Marriott, the founder, teaches all of the managers about the company’s core values,” Medwedeff said. “The secret is simple: you take care of your employees, and they take care of the guests. Of the more than 3,000 general managers at Marriott properties worldwide, approximately 99% were promoted from within. That’s a good example of loyalty.”

For its work during 2007, the sales team at MIM was named the Sales Team of the Year by Marriott. The award, which is determined by a team of corporate and regional executives, is based on a list of objective criteria, including the volume of group bookings in relation to an individual property’s goals.

During that year, MIM had one of the highest growth rates of any Marriott hotel in the US. According to Medwedeff, this is due to the team’s creativity and the manner in which they nurture client relationships.

As a way to encourage meeting planners to book functions at MIM, the sales team set up a program called Once in a Lifetime Events. Meeting planners who book events that meet certain criteria at the resort are eligible to participate in the Once in a Lifetime Event program, which offers prizes like trips to the Superbowl and the Kentucky Derby.

“This is just one example of how we find creative ways to recognize and reward our most loyal customers,” Medwedeff said.

In addition to objective criteria, the Marriott sales teams were evaluated in terms of their charity involvement. Fortunately for MIM, the team’s spirit to serve is a strong one. Most recently, the team at MIM raised $15,000 for Take Stock in Children, through a variety of activities, to create a college scholarship program, and last year, the resort raised more than $100,000 for The Children’s Miracle Network, which funds All Children’s Hospital.

In many respects, 2008 was a record-breaking year for MIM. Looking to the future, Medwedeff plans to continue on in a similar manner, aggressively seeking both convention groups and transient business.“The renovation was about repositioning,” Medwedeff said. “We wanted to create a destination resort that took advantage of its beach location and offered an array of activities and amenities in conjunction with that. We want our guests to view MIM as an island within an island. They don’t have to leave the property because we provide everything.”
 
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