Kill the Front Desk: CitizenM CEO Says Marriott Backs Its Tech and AI Vision

The boutique hotel that figured out how to make tiny rooms feel luxurious is about to find out if corporate ownership kills cool. CitizenM's CEO Lennert De Jong believes Marriott's approach to tech and service are very promising.

CitizenM built its reputation by doing everything traditional hotels don't: digitizing the check-in experience, offering tiny rooms, and hiring staff based on personality rather than past training.

Now that Marriott is acquiring CitizenM for $355 million, industry watchers are asking whether the corporate giant will strip away what made it special.

CEO Lennert De Jong – employee number one when CitizenM launched in 2008 – isn't worried. In his first public interview since the acquisition announcement, he argued at Skift's Data and AI Summit that Marriott gets the brand's mission: He thinks Marriott is just as obsessed with killing the front desk as he is.

Watch the interview here:

De Jong said that when CitizenM's leadership fielded acquisition offers from various potential owners, they considered Marriott's