Integrated technical services to deliver improved competitive advantage

The Project

Marriott International appointed EC Harris to develop an Integrated Technical Services approach on their developments in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, in order to achieve:

• Brand protection and compliance
• Competitive advantage
• Operational reliability
• Delivery certainty
• Reduction of risk.

Marriott International engaged EC Harris' experts in architecture, mechanical services and interior design to handle a range of specialist services, ranging from periodic project monitoring to full time hotel design management.  To gain a competitive advantage, EC Harris worked with the team as hotel brand ambassadors, helping owners and consultant teams design and construct their properties in accordance with Marriott’s brand standards, ensuring greater certainty of handover and opening dates, and improved operational reliability.

Creating Solutions

EC Harris identified opportunities to integrate Marriott International's needs as an operator with the hotel owners' needs, developing these to drive better efficiencies in the hotel delivery and on-going operation.

Benefits from solutions created include:

• Outsourcing which has allowed greater flexibility in resource planning, limiting associated risks and driving down overall costs
• Improved hotel quality through design and operational excellence, improving communication and reducing errors
• Use of technology to develop a consistent reporting platform that created clarity for all stakeholders of information and informed decision making
• Brand deviation issues being flagged early so they are easier to solve without compromising the owner's cost and time constraints.  Defects at opening were also reduced, giving greater guest satisfaction and improved return on investment for the owners and Marriott International
• Improved communication and reporting procedures reduced time to opening and increased cash flow for owners and for Marriott International
• Marriott Asia Pacific technical services team are now handling over one hundred projects simultaneously. 

Adding Value

Savings through technical systems construction monitoring: Over a portfolio of 25 hotels in six years, EC Harris has ensured that not one single hotel has failed the pre-handover system testing of the Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing systems (MEP) and Fire and Life Safety systems necessary for the operators insurance, which must be in place before the local operations team are fully engaged.  This has resulted in over 95% of opening dates being met or improved upon.  

Saving through programming monitoring: £350,000 was saved in the re-programming of the local operations team staff recruitment in line with the protracted construction programme of a new build Marriott in the UK.

Savings through design due diligence: EC Harris was able to save the developer of a Marriott Hotel in Lebanon over £1 million after an early design review identified inconsistencies in the technical services design.

Savings through value engineering: In Germany EC Harris was able to save the developer over £1.5 million in the technical services design review leading to a value engineering workshop to reduce levels of over engineering above brand standard requirements.

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