Marriott picks Fort Myers to debut low-cost extended-stay brand

At least six top executives with Marriott International, including the CFO, Chief Customer Officer and President and CEO Tony Capuano, gathered on a field under a tent in Fort Myers Wednesday afternoon — many of them straight off a flight from Seattle. 

The executives were there for a rare celebration: The hotel giant, with 1.4 million rooms in 8,700 properties across 139 countries, chose Fort Myers to debut its new affordable midscale extended-stay brand, StudioRes. The celebration was a groundbreaking that, in addition to dozen or so Marriott officials at various levels, included the hotel developer/builder, other partners and Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau Executive Director Tamara Pigott.