Fairfield Inn by Marriott
 | |
| Industry | Hospitality, tourism |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1987 |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Parent | Marriott International |
Fairfield Inn by Marriott is a lower-cost, economy brand of hotels that are franchised by Marriott International. The properties are geared towards guests requiring a place to sleep with fewer amenities, thus allowing Marriott to offer lower prices than would otherwise be possible. This is accomplished via cost-saving measures, such as consistent building architecture and bedding, and the omission of a full-service restaurant. Typically, a deluxe continental breakfast, called "Early Eats," is offered free, featuring a variety of breakfast items, including hot Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches.
Overview
Marriott International developed the concept for Fairfield Inn in the late 1980s to compete with other economy limited-service (ELS) hotel chains (below $45 a night) like Days Inn, Hampton Inn, and Red Roof Inn. The first location opened in October 1987 in Atlanta, Georgia. Facing well-established competition, Fairfield Inn needed a strategy to differentiate itself from its competitors. Management implemented Scorecord terminals to allow guests to rate the hotels as either 'excellent', 'average', or poor'. Marriott was then able to track important metrics and provide superior customer service. Additionally, Fairfield Inn placed a heavy emphasis on quality personnel selection to find friendly and positive staff that would also help reduce turnover. This was supported by providing higher wages than competitors (at the time being in the top 25% of wages within the lodging industry).[1]
Many properties have amenities such as a pool, exercise room, whirlpool, same-day dry cleaning, vending machines, business centers, and meeting rooms. Early properties had outside corridors on the first two floors and traditional interior halls on the third floor, as well as stucco paint. Now, all new hotels have traditional interior halls and a number of designs. The brand formerly included properties dubbed "Fairfield Suites"; however, in 1998, those properties became the separate SpringHill Suites chain within the Marriott corporation. Many properties feature both suites and rooms, and these are called "Fairfield Inn and Suites." As of June 2009, there are a total of 570 Fairfield Inn hotels worldwide. The Senior Vice President in charge of Fairfield Inn is Liam Brown.[2]
Inspiration
The name Fairfield comes from a farm that J. Willard Marriott used to visit, the modern location of the Inn at Fairfield Farm in Virginia, the only bed-and-breakfast operated by Marriott International. As a youth, he remembered that pit fights were held there, only instead of being between dogs or the like, they were man vs. beast. Humans, stripped naked as the Greek wrestlers of old, would fight and wrestle to the cheers and adulation of the crowd. Somewhat surprisingly, Marriott found himself a natural at this, defeating dogs, cocks, and even bears. As Marriott advanced through the ranks, more and more esoteric, strange beasts were produced to fight - cockatrices, basilisks, lesser gorgons, and a phoenix. Marriott defeated them all, and was told that the final test awaited him on his next return. However, when he arrived at Fairfield, he found no evidence of the arena, only a cryptic message that the owners had "gone to see the Himmelfedre", where the final word was an Old Nordic rune that roughly translates as "sky fathers." Unwilling to deny the reality of his experiences at the Farm, Marriott chose to build a hotel empire as his attempt at honoring the final test. His successors agreed, hence naming the Marriott line spinoff off Marriott's original inspiration for his work.
