Goal: Revolutionize the hotel guest experience from check-in to check-out, using advanced technology and beautiful, intuitive design. From the guest room to the fitness center and even collaborative common spaces, Marriott’s “M Beta” Hotel in Charlotte, N.C., looked to LG Electronics as the main technology provider to create an innovative, modern, and personalized experience for hotel guests unlike any other hospitality offering in the industry today.

Solution: Marriott Hotels turned to long-time technology partner LG Electronics to help bring  to life a brand new hotel experience built around advanced technologies, high-performing products and beautiful displays. The transformation spans all areas of the hotel – the lobby, fitness center, meeting spaces and guest rooms.

Results: A complete transformation of the 30-year-old property into an inviting, flexible and modern space. The moment a guest steps into the lobby at Marriott Charlotte City Center, they feel the difference. From morning runs to evening cocktails, the hotel allows guests to create a customized experience – unparalleled in the hospitality industry. The hotel aims to set the standard for the future of hotel design.

The Challenge

While technology constantly evolves and changes, the hotel experience has been less nimble and not as fast to transform. Marriott Hotels’ vision was to create a revolutionary hotel model that puts innovation as the forefront and the traveler as the co-pilot. The hotel partnered with LG Business Solutions to recreate the hotel experience, one space at a time, gaining feedback from guests as they experience the innovations in real time.

The Guest Room

A primary guest experience revolves around the guest room. Each room in the Marriott Charlotte City Center highlights technology as a vital component  for both business and leisure travelers.

Each of the 444 guest rooms feature a 55-inch LG hotel LED TV, serving as the hub for in-room information and entertainment. The TVs feature LG’s Pro:Idiom and Pro:Centric guest room platforms, as well as LG’s industry-leading set-top box technology powering Marriot’s state-of-the-art guest information platform. Hotel and local area information is at guests’ fingertips right in their room.

Further enhancing the in-room experience, the TVs allow guests to stream content from their smart devices onto the big screen – including Netflix, Hulu, TED talks, YouTube, Pandora and more.

“We wanted to provide guests the ability to view their own content on the big screen in their own room, allowing them to truly feel at home,” says Mike Kosla, vice president, hospitality, LG Electronics USA Business Solutions. “Our first priority was in the guest room. After that, the technology implemented throughout the hotel allowed Marriott and LG to get really creative.”

Not Your Average Fitness Center

Marriott Hotels aimed to enhance its fitness offerings to meet the new needs of travelers who were looking for more flexible solutions to their workouts on the road. Existing fitness centers typically house limited, aging equipment and uninspiring spaces. Guests were often forced to bring their own connected devices, such as iPads and laptops, to studio spaces to stream content.

Leveraging LG display technology to address this challenge, Marriott implemented a 3×3 video wall of 47-inch class LG display panels and an LG soundbar in the newly renovated fitness center. By marrying state-of-the-art video, flexible space and sound technology with compelling third-party content from Fitness on Demand, which offers over 1600 free classes, Marriott transformed the hotel fitness experience.

“By pairing Fitness on Demand’s expansive catalogue of popular workouts and LG’s cutting edge display and audio technology, Marriott is taking the lead in providing an elevated health club experience,” says Kenneth Ryan, vice president, global spa operations,Marriott International.

Spaces to Connect and Collaborate

Marriott recognized the limited comfortable gathering and meeting spaces as a pain point for many travelers. Whether guests want to have a drink, share a meal, or just unwind with a few friends, hotels often don’t offer a solution beyond traditional restaurants and bars.

Recognizing that when friends and family gather at home they tend to congregate in the kitchen, Marriott created a proof of concept at the Charlotte hotel’s modern and open meeting space around a full residential kitchen with premium LG Studio kitchen appliances.

The suite of built-in appliances with design inspired by LG Studio Artistic Adviser Nate Berkus includes the LG Studio 42-inch side-by-side refrigerator, 36-inch counter-depth French Door refrigerator, 30-inch double wall oven,  dishwasher and microwave oven.  Further enhancing this common area, Marriott installed a number of LG OLED TVs with wide viewing angles and incredible picture performance to help guests unwind.

“The LG Studio Kitchen provides a residential-feel kitchen so that our guests can meet and collaborate as they would at home. The foundation is sleek and chic products – from the kitchen appliances to the televisions, that allows us to use the space as it was intended – as a gathering area,” says Alli Beane, senior director, design and development, Marriott International.

Elevated Experience for the Future

As guests stroll throughout the property they’ll notice LG’s immersive and innovative technology around every corner. From the check-in area, where guests can use an LG touchscreen monitor to find their reservation, to the exclusive M Club, where VIP guests can enjoy 75- and 65-inch LG displays, to the board room with LG’s interactive digital display to conduct meetings, “the entire property has a dynamic flow that was inspired by guests’ creativity and ideas that brings to life the vision for the future of Marriott Hotel Properties,” according to Beane.

“Partnering with the right technology provider was a significant factor in the transformation of this hotel. We’re thrilled LG was able to bring our vision to life in Charlotte,” adds Crissy Wright, general manager, Marriott Charlotte City Center.