Marriott Minneapolis City Center Debuts Roaming Assistants
MINNEAPOLIS, MN, January 7, 2008. After a $25 million renovation that completely modernized the Marriott Minneapolis City Center and its amenities, hotel officials have now integrated an element that will modernize how guests experience the hotel as well.
The Marriott Minneapolis City Center is one of the first Marriott hotels in the country to debut roaming assistants - Marriott associates who will function as walking concierges who will roam the hotel lobby, answer any questions they may have and even order food and beverage items.
To serve guests as quickly as possible, roaming assistants will use a hand-held electronic device, about twice as big as a Blackberry that features touch-screen pads. This will allow the roaming assistants to freely move around the lobby and even place food and beverage orders for guests. The food and beverage orders will send a signal to the kitchen and generate a printed receipt that places the order.
"We wanted to enable our guests to have freedom of choice in how they experience the hotel," said John Buntemeyer, general manager of the Minneapolis City Center Marriott. "The Marriott associates who will function as roaming assistants will help customers get what they need on their own terms with minimal hassle."
The roaming assistants also encourage guests to relax and spend time in the Minneapolis City Center Marriott's renovated lobby. The lobby is the first in the Midwest to embrace Marriott's new groundbreaking lobby design intended to accommodate business travelers who like to work, relax and socialize simultaneously. The new space features a welcome zone with check-in pods; an individual zone; a social zone with intimate tables for quiet meetings or a glass of wine; and a business zone with workstations.
For more information, please contact Leslie Wright, director of sales and marketing for the Minneapolis City Center Marriott, at (612) 349-4050 for more information.
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is a global leading lodging company based in Bethesda,Maryland, USA, with more than 4,200 properties in 80 countries and territories. Marriott International reported revenues of nearly $14 billion in fiscal year 2014. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 19 brands, including: The Ritz-Carlton®, BVlgari®, EDITION®, JW Marriott®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Renaissance® Hotels, Marriott Hotels®, Delta Hotels and Resorts®, Marriott Executive Apartments®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Gaylord Hotels®, AC Hotels by Marriott®, Courtyard®, Residence Inn®, SpringHill Suites®, Fairfield Inn & Suites®, TownePlace Suites®, Protea Hotels® and MoxyHotels®. Marriott has been consistently recognized as a top employer and for its superior business ethics. The company also manages the award-winning guest loyalty program, Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® program, which together surpass 50 million members. For more information or reservations, please visit our website at 
