The Mayflower hotel in Washington, D.C. was the site of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's inaugural ball back in the early 1930s.  Also, J. Edgar Hoover used to have lunch at the Mayflower all during his tenure.  Eleanor Roosevelt had afternoon tea there, and there have been many other famous people who have stayed there.  What a lot of people don't know is that, in addition to being a famous hotel, the Mayflower is one of more than 140 Renaissance hotels around the world.

We have another Renaissance hotel that has a fascinating past and that's The Blackstone in Chicago.  This hotel used to be known as the "Hotel of Presidents."  Its Presidential Suite was occupied by many former U.S. Presidents such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter.  The most famous room at this hotel is called the Smoke Filled Room, where a group of cigar-smoking Republicans helped secure Warren G. Harding his party's presidential nomination.

In recent years, the hotel was closed until one of our franchisees, Sage Hospitality, bought it.  They completed a huge $128 million renovation and just reopened it.  It looks great.  It has a fresh, modern feel, but it still remains true to its historic past.

Another very famous hotel is The Shelbourne, which is also a Renaissance and played a great role in the history of the Irish independence.  Michael Collins apparently signed the Irish Constitution in one of the rooms there.  I sat in his chair and visited the room when I visited the hotel and even blogged from there last year.  Their renovation is wonderful.

We've been doing many exciting things with the brand.  We're transforming the lobbies with WiFi and leisure zones to allow travelers to work and play.  We're updating the guest room design and making it easier for business travelers to work in their rooms with our new connectivity panel that comes with new 32 or 37 inch high definition TVs.

The latest one is, of course, a new Renaissance in Boston and a total re-do of the Renaissance Times Square.

I'm really excited about the Renaissance direction and the old history of many of the Renaissance properties is fascinating.  If you've had a great experience at a Renaissance, I'd love to hear from you.  Please let me know.

I'm Bill Marriott and thanks for helping me keep Marriott on the move.

History in the Making at Our Renaissance Hotels