Marriott Works to Accommodate Employees Traveling for ‘Water Cooler’ Meetups
Skift Take
Friction between what company travel managers want for their remote teams, and what hotels can actually give them, does exist. But Marriott says it's on the case.
Marriott is looking to meet new demands from company travel managers, following a ramp up in requests for more culture and trust-boosting team meetings.
These new kinds of gatherings are designed for employees who work efficiently remotely, but need opportunities to network and build up trust with peers. Technically you can call it "collaboration travel," but one travel buyer at the Global Business Travel Association’s European conference, held in Brussels this week, describes it as the new "water cooler" discussion.
It's a conundrum for one senior Marriott exec, as these meetings are often booked last-minute, and travel buyers want to move away from traditional hotel meeting spaces.
Meeting’s Defragmentation Moment
In a poll of delegates during a panel called "Collaboration Travel, a Passing Trend or Here to Stay?" which included a large number of travel buyers, the need for more flexible solutions from hotels was highlighted, as the nature of meetings meant lead times were shor
