functions surrounding meetings “gave us a great deal of information.” The toughest needs to get at, Bromberg said, are
latent needs. These are “things that people don’t even know they need until you give it to them — and then, they are like, ‘Oh, my God! How did you know?’ And it seems like magic. You need all three [ask, observe, and engage] in order to understand how to change the game for user experience.”
Workspring at Marriott, at the Redmond Marriott Town Center in Redmond, Wash., doesn’t look like any hotel meeting space you’ve ever seen, promises Laurie Goldstein, a public-relations manager for Marriott International. The contemporary “small meetings suite,” which opened in September, blends five studios with a café that feels like a home kitchen, a quiet library, and a common area that could double as a living room. “The future of the way people work,” said Paul Cahill, senior vice president for brand management for Marriott Hotels and Resorts, “is more social and more collaborative.” Created through a partnership between Marriott and
Steelcase — which designed and operates two Workspring meeting spaces in Chicago — Workspring at Marriott reflects A-to-Z thinking about how humans work and what fuels high- performing teams, Cahill said, from supplies to furniture and room setups to technology. Constructed in what formerly was a junior ballroom at the
hotel, Workspring at Marriott was sparked in part by the hotel company’s conviction that small meetings have their own dynamics. “You shouldn’t treat a small collaborative meeting the same as a meeting of 1,200,” Cahill said. Accordingly, the Workspring suite offers spaces that range from 235 square feet to about 1,200 square feet, and can accommodate groups of three to 75 people. It is no longer a competitive advantage just to have
information — everyone has information, according to Matthew Von Ertfelda, vice president of insight, strategy, and innovation for Marriott International. “What is needed are environments and collaborative tools that allow participants to use and distill information,” Von Ertfelda said. “That’s what a successful meeting is today.” The space offers lots of natural light, along with ergonomic
seating, outdoor space, and snacks and meals prepared from locally sourced food. “It is space that has a soul,” Von Ertfelda said, “and a DNA.” That DNA includes a dedicated meetings host, trained by Steelcase, a daily set menu, and supplies and AV equipment that are integrated into the meeting-space design. The all-inclusive price (full- or partial-day rental) includes F&B, supplies, and technology. The Workspring at Marriott in Redmond is the first such
ofice space to be offered by the hotel chain, but it won’t be the last. Cahill said: “It’s a game-changer.”
CHOOSING A WORK POSTURE One major element of the original Goldman Sachs training center at 32 Old Slip that will remain in place is a tiered auditorium — renamed the Forum — that seats 250 people in angled rows. The updated auditorium has been opened up to more light — and river views — and equipped with simulcast and webcasting technology. “We’re fusing the virtual with the real world,” Kelly said, creating the capacity to link remote sites together and allow full participation by online audiences. 32 Old Slip also will be equipped with technol-
ogy that will allow information presented in the auditorium to be broadcast into every room of the facility, including informal spaces with a range of furnishings — from tables and chairs to lounges and ottomans — that groups or individuals can arrange as they wish, giving meeting attendees almost unlimited options about how they want to interact with content and each other. “I think this is a big idea that no one else in the conferencing business has tapped into — that people are no longer just working in offices, sitting upright in chairs, at right angles to their desks,” Kelly said.
“Technology has freed everything up. Things are becoming more relaxed. People want to be able to choose not only where they work, but how they work in a given setting.” People have a new expectation of flexibility in
their work and professional lives. “If I can work anywhere, anytime, at home, on my couch or at Starbucks, and can do so in comfort,” Kelly said,
“then I fully expect the same at work or when I attend a meeting. … We asked, ‘How can we give people control? How can we allow alternative postures? How can we allow people to work more comfortably if that’s what they want?’ It’s not say- ing you’ve got to throw out the old and just have the new, but we’re going to be offering a range of settings that we don’t think clients will be able to find anywhere else.”