Minneapolis Marriott Northwest Named Hotel of the Year

MINNEAPOLIS – The Minneapolis Marriott Northwest has been named “Hotel of the Year” for the Americas by Marriott International, continuing its strong run under the Marriott brand. The recent recognition is a crowning achievement in a turnaround that began nearly five years ago.

StepStone Hospitality took over management of the hotel in October 2010 after it went into foreclosure a year earlier. Formerly known as the Northland Inn, the hotel completed an extensive $24 million renovation prior to converting to the Marriott brand in July 2012. At the time, StepStone committed to making the hotel a cornerstone property in the Marriott family.

“This great hotel has become just the kind of successful and locally involved property that we knew it had the potential to be,” said Thomas Russo, chief executive officer, StepStone Hospitality. “The team really deserves this recognition and we appreciate the way our guests have embraced the changes we’ve made.”

“We’re proud of our staff and their extraordinary efforts on behalf of this hotel,” said General Manager Bob Schrader. “They’ve really gone above and beyond to be of service not only to the hotel and our guests, but also to the local community.”

The awards are based on a number of criteria including customer service, community service, and RevPAR (revenue per available room) penetration. The team is credited with quickly ramping up the hotel’s revenues, both rooms and food & beverage following the renovation, through both regional and local initiatives, while at the same time giving back to the community.

In addition to the “Hotel of the Year” award, in recent years the property received the Marriott Renovation Excellence Award, the Marriott Service Excellence Award for finishing #1 out of all full-service Marriott hotels in guest satisfaction, as well as the “Property Sales Team of the Year” award for effective sales & marketing combined with a commitment to serving the community.

The hotel has more than 50,000 square feet of meeting and event space that can handle up to 850 guests, making it one of the top conference hotels in the Twin Cities area. The facility hosts more than 1,000 events annually for local and national corporations and associations, community organizations and family events, such as weddings.

The all-suite hotel offers some of the most spacious guest rooms in the Upper Midwest. Its 230 two and three-room guest suites are designed with a living room and a separate bedroom.

The lobby includes a massive natural stone fireplace with casual seating areas, an extensive fitness center, a business center, an event planning office, and a private reception dining area. Wadsworth’s Bar & Grill is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks.

Guests interested in booking rooms at the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest can make reservations at www.marriott.com/mspnw.

About the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest

Conveniently situated at the intersection of Interstate 94 and Boone Avenue, the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest is just minutes from downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. The hotel has 230 two-room and three-room suites featuring some of the most spacious guest rooms in the Upper Midwest.

About StepStone Hospitality

Founded in 2007, Rhode Island-based StepStone Hospitality specializes in management for full-service and select-service hotel and restaurant operations to deliver enhanced value to StepStone clients. The company provides a unique combination of strong, hands-on operations, world-class strategic asset management, and food and beverage expertise, maintaining a balanced focus between revenue enhancement, margin expansion and guest satisfaction.