Marriott looks for social buzz with upside-down hotel room

This week in New York, the hotel chain unveiled the #MGravityRoom, an inverted room designed to showcase its modern new decor. The idea of the experiential marketing ploy is to highlight Marriott’s new room decor by turning one of its rooms upside down. The installation has a chair, a desk and a bed hanging from the wall on one side, so when you walk in and take a picture, it appears as though you are on the room’s ceiling.

“This was a really fun, creative way for us to be able to showcase our new design, where we’re literally taking the guest room and flipping it on its head,” said Matthew Carroll, Marriott’s vp of global brand management.

Marriott worked with a range of design firms, including Marriott I + A Design Studio, Fairmont Designs, Brookline Furniture, Belstone, Wolf Gordon, Mosaic Tile Company, Historic Timber and Plank, Sandler Seating and Designtex. The installation is available for people to check out at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge until Oct. 1.

The reach of such experiential stunts is by definition limited, but Marriott hopes the unique chance for people to take a photo seemingly sitting on the ceiling will spur social sharing that will get the brand into people’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds.

Stop by @MHMarriottBK now to view our interactive + evolving modern guest room design, with a twist. #MGravityRoom pic.twitter.com/l26RNMO0FC

— Marriott Hotels (@Marriott) September 20, 2016

Marriott is no stranger to experiential marketing. Last year, the brand offered its guests virtual tours of Chile, China and Rwanda right from the comfort of their hotel rooms. In 2014, it tapped Oculus Rift to give guests tours of Hawaii and London through a giant simulator.

“We’re having fun in the space and taking risks, and this is just the most recent example of one of those risks,” said Carroll.

Just hanging around! Our brands reporter Tanya Dua visited the #mgravityroom at the Marriott Brooklyn Bridge in New York — an interactive, inverted replica of the brand’s modern new room design. The replica has been designed to make it seem like guests are on the ceiling, but in reality, it’s just the way the items have been arranged.

A photo posted by Digiday (@digiday) on Sep 20, 2016 at 1:48pm PDT