Kaylee Fernandes
12/08/13
Hotel Analysis – Courtyard Marriott Sandy
I decided to do my second hotel analysis on the Courtyard Marriott in Sandy for a few
reasons. I work at the University Park Marriott and I wanted to compare a full service property to
a select service one. Also, my dad has been the general manager at this property for about six
years. When I looked at this website, I noticed that Courtyard’s signature brand color, lime green
was the main color on the web page. It had pictures that you could look through of various spots
of the property. I first decided to look and see what their rates would be for tonight, 12/08 and
found out that a rate for a standard room would be $129. The discounted rates would be more
along the lines of $116 which isn’t a very drastic difference.
A story I heard which I found very intriguing was that the hotel was originally built in
1995. Just a few months before opening, it caught fire and completely burned to the ground. It
even burned down the outsides of one of the surrounding hotels, which is a Hampton Inn today.
They never figured out what burned down the hotel however they believe it was construction
workers. They never did catch the people that started the fire. The hotel had to be completely
rebuilt and opened in 1996.
The location is one of the strengths of this property because it is located right off the
freeway and you can see it while driving on the freeway. Some other strengths of this property
are that it is right next to South Towne Mall, many restaurants and the Auto Mall. The building
entrance is covered and leads right into the lobby that was renovated just a few years ago. When
you walk into the lobby the market place, or gift shop and front desk are to the left hand side and
there is a Starbucks with a bistro to the right. Unlike most hotels, the lobby is not done in neutral
colors. It has a bright lime green shamrock accent wall which is a Courtyard requirement. It has
white tile when you enter and a “Go Board” which allows you to get directions, look at local
attractions and also acts as the hotel reader board. I was very impressed with this television when
I was younger and still am!
At the Courtyard Marriott they have a large open parking lot that surrounds the building.
They do not have any covered parking which can be a disadvantage in the winter months,
however to service guests bellmen will help clear off snow-covered cars during the day for
guests. It’s all free parking and there is no valet parking offered. One advantage of the parking
lot is that it has multiple exits so guests can get out of the lot from every side of the hotel on to
different busy roads.
When you walk into the lobby the first thought is that the hotel is very clean. The colors
Courtyard uses to theme their hotels are refreshing and clean. The furniture is gold, dark wood,
orange and blue. You can tell that the majority of the furnishings are new and that they have
been well-kept. A few guests came in while I was at the hotel and they were mostly business
travelers. That could be because I visited the hotel on a Sunday evening; therefore business
travelers were just getting in to town for Monday meetings or work. My dad informed me that
Courtyard Marriott hotels were built and designed by the business traveler. They are always full
during Monday through Thursday with business travelers. On weekends to fill the hotel up they
advertise to groups and sports teams. The Sandy hotel specifically gets a lot of business from
teams playing at Rio Tinto Stadium.
The uniforms are standard to all Courtyard Marriott hotels. The staff was all wearing
suits except the Starbucks workers, housekeeping, and engineering team. The front office has a
black suit with either a green or black undershirt uniform that they are required to wear and they
all have to match. Every employee has to wear a name tag at all times!
Being a select service property, the Courtyard by Marriott properties do not have a full
restaurant or bar inside them. They do have a Starbucks with a bistro which serves sandwiches
and traditional breakfast foods. One of the best sellers at the bistro is oatmeal for breakfast with
dried fruit and nuts. They do have a courtesy shuttle which goes to nearby restaurants and shops
within a three mile radius. The hours of the courtesy shuttle are from 7am to 11pm. Their
courtesy shuttle does not go to the airport due to the fact that the airport is about 25 miles away.
The sleeping rooms are decorated in maroon, gold and brown with white comforters on
all the beds. The standard rooms either have a king bed or two doubles. The suites have a king
bed, pull out couch and sitting area which are two separate rooms. The color scheme is one of the
mandatory schemes picked by Courtyard. All hotels have flat screen televisions and refrigerators
in the room. My first impression when walking into this room was that it was very well kept and
that the colors were surprising.
Some amenities the Courtyard Marriott Sandy offers is an indoor swimming pool and hot
tub, complimentary fitness center, ironing boards and irons in every room, safes available at the
desk, in room refrigerators, guest voice mail, complimentary in room internet access, gift shop,
express check out and an on-site washer and drier. The business center is located in the lobby
and consists of two computers and printers. There is a separate area to print boarding passes
located near the front desk. Typically Courtyard hotels don’t have a lot of meeting rooms
however; typically they have 2,500 to 3,500 feet of meeting room space. The Sandy property has
four meeting rooms and totals 2,500 square feet. These rooms are called the Canyon View North
and South room. The fourth room is a board room and is set up either conference style or theater
style upon request.
The major strength of this hotel is the location and the weakness is that they do not serve
complimentary breakfast like most surrounding hotels in the area. In conclusion, I enjoyed
learning about this property. My dad could talk for hours about his work and he enjoyed telling
me personal stories and history of this hotel.