Marriott Celebrates Grand Opening Of New Bethesda Headquarters

BETHESDA, MD — Marriott International celebrated the opening of its new global headquarters in downtown Bethesda on Monday, where top company officials and local lawmakers gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

In 2016, following discussions with the state and Montgomery County, Marriott announced plans to stay in Maryland and move from its Fernwood Road headquarters to the new location in downtown Bethesda.

The new LEEDv4 Gold-certified headquarters building, at 7750 Wisconsin Ave., stands 21 stories tall and provides about 785,000 square feet of space for more than 3,500 Marriott workers. The building has 2,842 workspaces, including offices, workstations and flexible spaces, along with 180 conference rooms.

Marriott made some adjustments to the building’s layout in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including reducing individual workspaces by about 25 percent and increasing the flexible spaces.

The new building also will serve as a global hub for Marriott’s research and development operation, featuring its innovation and design lab, a premium test kitchen and beverage bar, as well as “model” hotel rooms in the adjacent Marriott hotel.

“We are thrilled to be welcoming associates to our new headquarters,” Marriott International CEO Anthony Capuano said at the ceremony. “The campus has been designed to better connect our global workforce in support of our hotels and teams around the world. Empowering associates and accelerating innovation were our key priorities and central in every decision we made to deliver a compelling environment for associates to work, learn and thrive.”

Maryland Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford presented a Governor’s Citation to Capuano at the ceremony.

“It was my honor to celebrate the opening of Marriott International’s new global headquarters in Montgomery County,” Rutherford said. “Through our long-standing partnership, our administration is proud to support Marriott and its leadership, as the company continues to cement its legacy worldwide, while staying committed to supporting Maryland’s economy and tourism industry.”

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who took part in the groundbreaking for the site in 2018, was traveling to South Korea on state business and was unable to attend Monday's ceremony.

“Marriott has called Maryland home since 1955 and their new state-of-the-art headquarters in Bethesda ensures that Marriott will continue to call Maryland home for generations to come,” Hogan said in a statement. “We take great pride in Marriott as a Maryland institution that is a powerful economic engine and committed community partner. The new headquarters is the perfect place for Marriott to continue its work as the world’s largest hospitality company.”

Inside the headquarters, a 20-foot-tall moving work of digital art in an ultra-high-resolution video wall wraps around the elevator bay. The digital art wall is visible from the outside. The new headquarters office building lobby, including a café, is open to the public.

The employee cafeteria is called The Hot Shoppe, in reference to the company’s first restaurant that opened in D.C. in 1927. The 9,500 square feet cafeteria includes 350 indoor seats and 100 outdoor seats.

“Congratulations to Marriott International on the grand opening of your new corporate headquarters in downtown Bethesda. We are very glad to have you here,” Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, who participated in the ceremony, said in a statement.

A new 12-story Marriott Hotel, which opened in the spring, is adjacent to the office building.

Marriott intends to name the outdoor public plaza between the hotel and new headquarters building Sorenson Plaza, in honor of the company’s late CEO, Arne M. Sorenson, who died in 2021. Sorenson was deeply involved in the design of the new headquarters and "was excited about the prospect that the plaza would be a gathering place for associates and a vibrant space for the community," the company said.

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