Ian Schrager: 'Marriott is Like 'Wal-Mart'

August 20, 2007 at 11:15 AM | by juliana | Comments (0)

The NYT Sunday Business section has an in-depth article about Ian Schrager and his new unlikely partnership with Bill Marriott (along with scary photo of Ian in the lobby of Gramercy Park Hotel. Why is everything about this hotel so scary?)

Anyways, Ian recalls the first time he heard Bill Marriott wanted to meet him. Apparently Bill was skulking around the GPH lobby. Ian's first thoughts?

I said, 'Hmmm...Bill Marriott?'"...."I mean, it's Marriott! They are like Wal-Mart. Not matter what you think of the brand you have to respect it. For me, it was like getting the Good Housekeeping seal of approval."

Huh?? Sounds like Ian was backtracking a bit there from his Wal-Mart comment. Nevertheless, he seems to be excited about his venture with Wal-Mart...er we mean Marriott, which includes 100 Schrager-designed hotels across the world. Not to mention he seems pretty excited about his own potential for simply put, hotel world domination.

Some highlights include tidbits on Ian's obsessiveness:

· He demands that bouquets in the guest rooms contain exactly 10 pink carnations.
· Anna Wintour (bitchy editrix of Vogue) says everyone is terrified to move a chair without his permission.

The article also touches a bit on Ian's stint in jail for tax evasion (although very briefly) and how the botched refinancing of the Clift Hotel ultimately forced him to leave Morgans Hotel Group--the company he had started with Steve Rubell in the mid-1980s.

Also, the article suggests that Ian will have to do without some of his favorite hotel touches such as dark corridors, fancy notepads, and he will most likely not have all the trees in the forest to select from for his construction materials.

But despite making some concessions, Ian has already shown his diva card. When Marriott's marketing team put together some materials for a road show about the new partnership, Ian vetoed the use of a photo of Marriott's guest rooms saying,

"Understand, this is not the kind of thing I'll be doing."

Bill Marriott better be taking his blood-pressure medication regularly.

Related Stories:
· A Hotelier is breaking the Mold Once Again [NYT]

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