Check out the digs at Marriott’s new global HQ

Hospitality giant Marriott has officially opened up its huge new HQ in Bethesda, Maryland, the brand announced Monday.

Marriott began its plans for the new headquarters six years ago, officially breaking ground in 2018. The new space, which consists of 21 stories and 785,000 square feet, support the brand’s 8,100 hotels worldwide. The company has always had ties to the DMV, starting as a root beer stand in 1927 in DC known as Hot Shoppe. It moved to Bethesda in 1979.

The new campus, which also includes Marriott’s downtown hotel location, will also be the company’s hub for research and development. It will feature an innovation and design lab, a test kitchen, a beverage bar and model hotel rooms for testing new products and technologies that Marriott and its 30-brand portfolio can use. Marriott says it will also have a hybrid workplace for employees at the new HQ.

“This new headquarters has been built with technology that allows collaboration both in person and virtually,” the company said in an email to Technical.ly. “In addition, we’ve created some exciting innovation spaces here that will allow us to look at everything from textiles to technology in our design and construction of hotel rooms.”

All in all, the new HQ has 2,842 workspaces, 180 conference rooms and almost 20,000 total square feet of workspace for employees.

“The campus has been designed to better connect our global workforce in support of our hotels and teams around the world,” said CEO Anthony Capuano in a statement. “Empowering associates and accelerating innovation were our key priorities and central in every decision we made to deliver a compelling environment for associates to work, learn and thrive.”

The test kitchen at Marriott’s new HQ. (Courtesy photo)

Additional workspace. (Courtesy photo)

In addition, the new space will feature a 7,500 square-foot health and fitness center; a wellness space with lactation rooms, meditation spaces, massage chairs and treadmill desks; and an almost 11,000 square-foot childcare center, which includes a 6,600 square-foot covered outdoor space. The company also said it will have medical resources and health advisors as a perk. Additional on-premises offerings include EV charging, bike parking, an associate cafeteria and a 7,600 square-foot garden space on the 20th floor.

Additionally, Marriott will provide employees an associate growth center on the top floor of the new HQ. Named for longtime CEO and chairman JW Marriott Jr., the center will host live and virtual events including leadership development programming, skill development, speakers, networking events and orientations for new hires.

Marriott’s 20th floor terrace for employees. (Courtesy photo)