The pandemic changed our relationship with the office, and for many companies the head office is now much smaller or non-existent.
While many white-collar workers are reluctant to return to the office, some companies, including Google and Amazon, are taking the plunge and investing millions of dollars in stylish new workspaces.
Among those doubling down on office space is international hotel chain Marriott, which is betting big with a new $600 million campus in Bethesda, Maryland.
Last month, Marriott opened the doors to its new headquarters — a 21-story, 785,000-square-foot building that took more than half a million dollars and six years of planning and construction.
The space, which includes a new Marriott hotel next door, is designed to accommodate employees working with more than 8,100 hotels in 139 countries and territories.
The company, which has adopted a hybrid working model for its corporate staff, said in a press release announcing the opening of its new headquarters that it “believes that a combination of face-to-face and virtual connectivity enhances the experience of the associate, enables collaboration for your global enterprise. workforce and fuels business performance.”
Marriott said its offices were designed to prioritize childcare, family support and wellness, with facilities at its Bethesda headquarters including a gym, meditation rooms, medical resources and an outdoor garden, as well as an 11,000-square-foot daycare center that can accommodate 91 children up to age five.
Each workstation has an outside view through floor-to-ceiling windows, the company said, with workers offered sitting desks.
“The campus has been designed to better connect our global workforce in support of our hotels and teams around the world,” Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said in a statement. “Empowering associates and accelerating innovation were our key priorities and central to every decision we made to provide an engaging environment for associates to work, learn and thrive.”
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