A Chat with Chris Adkins of the Tampa Marriott Waterside & Marina

We sat down with Chris Adkins, the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina, Tampa Bay’s largest hotel. The property, which opened in 2000, is in the final stages of a $40-million-dollar renovation. Plus, it will soon be joined by a brand-new hotel, a JW Marriott, across the street. So, there’s a lot happening in the Waterstreet district of Tampa, and we wanted to get his take.

TP: What are some of the highlights of this major renovation at your property?

CA: The vision is a complete re-do of the property as a precursor to the new-build, which is a JW Marriott that is going to be across the street. Construction there started about 45 days ago. It’ll be a complex and will connect to this hotel.

You’ll have 519 rooms at the JW, which opens August 2020—there will be a glass lobby bridge on the third floor, connecting the meeting space and the hotels. There are 727 rooms—701 guestrooms and 26 suites—at the Marriott post-renovation. The vision is elevating Marriott Waterside so that we can be a good partner with our JW.

It’ll be a single complex from a guest experience perspective. So, someone can stay here but use the new spa and the new restaurants across the street. The Waterside sits north-south and the JW will sit east-west, to maximize views for the new building. Guestrooms face the sunrise or sunset, and the suites will directly face the water and the downtown cityscape.

TP: How would you describe your mix of business?

CA: This hotel has been on the market for about 20 years. We’re a destination hotel, not really a pure resort. This hotel has traditionally been a convention hotel because we’re next door to the convention center and Amalie Arena.

There is a lot going on in downtown Tampa and we have seen the mix shift slightly. We do believe that it’ll continue to shift—because of the growth of amenities and things to do downtown.

Traditionally, this hotel has been about 70% group and 30% transient guests. Of that 30%, I’d say that one-third is business travel and the other two-thirds is leisure travel, including people coming in for hockey games or concerts.

Now, we’re seeing it as more of a 65% / 35% mix and the vision long-term is probably to be about 60% / 40% as this whole area is built out.

TP: How do you sell someone on Tampa if they’ve recently been to Orlando, Miami, or Fort Lauderdale?

CA: I don’t sell Tampa as “Florida.” I sell Tampa as a city escape. That’s really what it is. We’re not the beach, but we’re on the water.

It’s not about going and hanging on the beach for a couple of days or attractions. But if you want that, that’s here. You can go to Busch Gardens, ZooTampa at Lowry Park, you want to go to the Florida Aquarium, you’ve got those things.

We do families, but our property and this area is more of a couple’s getaway and small group getaway. I look at it more like we’re competing as a city destination with places like Nashville or Austin.

From here, you can get out in the Water Taxi or on the Riverwalk. You’ve got restaurants and nightlife. We’ve got the water and the good weather. The culinary scene is growing and the craft breweries are exploding in this area, so there’s a lot of things to do.