Marriott May Offer Communal Rooms With Shared Living, Kitchen Spaces

When you travel with a group, it can be a pain to book adjoining rooms, and even then you all have to cram into one person’s room or lay claim to the lobby bar if you want to get together. This is one reason why groups are increasingly turning to Airbnb and similar services, and why Marriott may try rooms with communal spaces.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Marriott International showed off its latest communal lodging concept at The Americas Lodging Investment Summit last week, revealing a setup that appears to be more of an apartment/dorm hybrid than a traditional hotel room.

The concept, which the company says could be used at its Element Hotel brand, revamps each floor of the hotel to contain a cluster of rooms around a shared living and kitchen area on each floor of the building.

Toni Stoical, vice president for Marriott’s distinctive select brands, tells the L.A. Times that the rooms could be rented by large groups of travelers, such as colleagues on business trips or friends attending bachelor parties.  It’s unclear if the communal setup would ever be rented to several small parties or individual travelers.

The communal-room configuration could be the hotel industry’s attempt to take on short-term rental companies like Airbnb and Vacation Rentals By Owner, where large groups of guests can rent entire homes or apartments.

While the company didn’t reveal when it might add the concept to its hotel lineup, Stockton notes that feedback has been “very positive” so far.