The pop-ups that made hotel revenues go sky high

Marriott’s Canvas Project gets entrepreneurs to transform tired hotel spaces into edgy food and drink outlets for locals – and so far, it’s working

With so many new dining and socialising options emerging, especially in major cities, the hotel industry has got its work cut out trying to lure external customers into its restaurants and bars.

Coupled with the need to maximise the profitability of its communal areas, this is what sparked a bold idea at Marriott International: what if entrepreneurs – experimental foodies and bar visionaries – could be enticed to transform unused corners of its hotels into something edgy and different that might attract a new crowd?

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