Fairfield by Marriott is a

franchised Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television ...

economy to midscale

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

brand of

Marriott International Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging including hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. The company was founded by ...

. The properties target guests willing to accept fewer amenities for lower prices. Cost-saving measures included standardized building architecture and bedding, and the absence of a full-service restaurant, but a complimentary hot breakfast. As of June 30, 2021, the brand had 1,169 hotels with 114,986 rooms with an additional 387 hotels with 47,476 rooms in the pipeline. Amenities at most properties include a pool, whirlpool,

health club A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health s ...

, same-day dry cleaning, vending machines, meeting rooms, free

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves ...

, an

ergonomic desk The computer desk and related ergonomic desk are furniture pieces designed to comfortably and aesthetically provide a working surface and house or conceal office equipment including computers, peripherals and cabling for office and home-offi ...

and chair, and a complimentary hot breakfast, business center with printing capabilities, in-room television, mini-refrigerator, and microwave. The brand was named Fairfield Inn & Suites from 1987–2019.

Overview

developed the concept for Fairfield Inn in the late 1980s to compete with other economy limited-service (ELS) hotel chains (below $45 a night) like

Days Inn Days Inn is a hotel chain headquartered in the United States. It was founded in 1970 by Cecil B. Day, who opened the first location in Tybee Island, Georgia. The brand is now a part of the Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, headquartered in Parsippany ...

Hampton Inn Hampton by Hilton, formerly known (and still commonly referred to) as Hampton Inn or Hampton Inn & Suites, is an American chain of hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. The Hampton hotel brand is a chain of moderately priced, budget to midscale ...

, and Red Roof Inn. The first location opened in October 1987 in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

. Management implemented scorecard terminals to allow guests to rate the hotels as either 'excellent', 'average', or 'poor'. Marriott was then able to track important metrics and provide superior customer service. Additionally, employee selection emphasized the appointment of friendly and positive staff, which also reduced turnover. This was achieved by providing higher wages than competitors (at the time being in the top 25% of wages within the lodging industry). The brand formerly included properties dubbed "Fairfield Suites"; however, in 1998, those properties became the separate SpringHill Suites chain within the Marriott corporation. Many properties feature both suites and rooms, and these were called "Fairfield Inn and Suites." The chain has generally moved away from outside-opening doors in its more recent constructions, preferring traditional interior halls. In 2004, brand head Liam Brown wanted the brand to move from the budget tier of hotels into the moderate tier by renovating newer locations and closing aging ones. The brand introduced coffee in the hotel rooms, express check-out, and newspaper delivery. In 2013, the brand expanded to Asia. In 2019, the Fairfield Inn & Suites Denver Tech Center opened, the 1000th Fairfield property worldwide. In August 2020, the brand expanded to Peru. In April 2021, Marriott tested a contactless vending machine at Fairfield Inns. In June 2021, the first brand location in Europe opened.

Inspiration

The brand name comes from the Fairfield Farm in

Hume, Virginia Hume is an unincorporated community in Fauquier County, Virginia. Hume is five miles south of Interstate 66's Exit 18 and is named for the local Hume family. It runs along Virginia State Route 688. It is east of the Rappahannock County line. The ...

, which J. Willard Marriott purchased as a family retreat. Originally owned by the King of England, the farm reminded Marriott of the western ranches of his childhood. After being refurbished in 1997, Fairfield Farm opened as Marriott's only

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

, The Inn at Fairfield Farm. I put a croissant in one of those hotel conveyor toasters. It soon became engulfed in flames and had to be extinguished. The next day at breakfast, there was a sign that said, 'If you’d like your croissant toasted, please ask a member of staff.'

Overview

Inspiration

Accommodations

Historical

From 2015

References

External links