Marriott Hotels Unite Through Golf to Raise Money for Children’s Hospital
Organization Snapshot
Marriott Business Councils bring together hotel management and employees from across a region to network and work together to give back to the larger community. The Colorado Marriott Business Council has been active for over two decades, with a strong presence in the Denver area and beyond that engages Marriott hotel brands, its employees, and the community at-large. It formed a millennial/next generation committee to involve future leaders and provide direction to the Council at large as well as an active committee focusing on LGBTQ issues.
Chad Conrad is currently the chair of the Colorado Council and has been involved in its work for over 23 years. “Marriott believes in taking care of its employees while also taking care of its community,” Chad says. “The goal is to make people feel like you’re at home when you’re not at home. Employees are just the ambassadors of that idea, taking care of each other and expanding it into the communities where we operate,” he explains.
Annual Tournament
20 years +
Dollars Raised
$35,000
At the national level, Marriott has been a banner sponsor of Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals for over 30 years. This support has trickled down to local and regional Marriott groups, including business councils. Across its 675,000 associates in the U.S., there’s strong buy-in to the commitment to CMN Hospitals across the country. “Associates’ kids benefit from these top-notch facilities,” says Chad. The tie to CMN Hospitals is important to him personally, as both his daughters have been in children’s hospitals at one time or another.
For over 20 years, the Council has hosted an annual golf tournament to raise money for Children’s Hospital Colorado, the local CMN hospital. He and the planning team have made a concerted effort to set their event apart from other fundraisers and offer a different experience each year, working closely with vendors and other partners. One of its hallmarks has been featuring executive chefs from various Marriott hotels cooking a signature dish on each hole.
Unfortunately, COVID-19’s profound impact on the tourism industry—layoffs, reduced hotel occupancy, and labor shortages—have impacted the Council’s work and people power. “A lot of our committees fell apart as we lost staff,” Chad explains, but notes that as the workforce rebounds these groups can be rebuilt and re-engaged.
The Challenge
For Chad and Marriott employees from across the state, the annual golf fundraiser’s support of Children’s Hospital Colorado resulted in a meaningful tie to the community. He has been involved in the golf tournament since its inception, and has seen it grow and flourish over the years.
But as COVID-19 hit the tourism industry hard, hotels were short-staffed and the golf event was forced to be pared down. The Council lost several members due to layoffs and closures in hotels, including two who helped Chad head up the golf tournament each year, leaving him as the lone organizer. “It fell 100% on my plate to make it happen,” Chad says. Though he didn’t necessarily want to learn a new platform or system, he knew in order to keep the event alive, he needed to employ some type of technology to save time, automate processes, and make planning as simple and efficient as possible.
The Solution
Chad turned to GolfStatus, the official golf event management platform for events benefiting CMN Hospitals, to get the event back on its feet. He saw its easy-to-use technology as an all-in-one solution to promote the event, register golfers, onboard and recognize sponsors, and collect funds.
With limited manpower and resources, the switch to GolfStatus for the golf tournament couldn’t have come at a better time. Because the event was raising money for a nonprofit—Colorado Children’s Hospital—it qualified for no-cost access to GolfStatus’s platform through the company’s Golf for Good giveback initiative.
The Results
Though COVID-19 upended the golf tournament and drew fewer golfers than in past years, momentum is building and Chad hopes to get back to a full slate of teams in the next few years. “Since it’s been around for over 20 years, it was important to me to keep it alive,” Chad says. The tournament date was moved from June to August and couldn’t include any extras beyond the round of golf. And while the tournament attracted about half of its historical attendees, the event still raised about the same amount of money for the hospital, around $35,000. “We were thrilled about that,” he says.
Highlighted Platform Features
Golf for Good program
Event website
Online registration
Secure payment processing
Messaging feature
Event Website
Because the golf tournament benefited a nonprofit in Children’s Hospital Colorado, it qualified for GolfStatus’s Golf for Good program, which provides no-cost access to the event planning and fundraising platform at no cost. The GolfStatus team built an event website in partnership with Chad, along with custom team and sponsorship packages that people could purchase directly on the website with just a few clicks. The event website also lets golfers, sponsors, and spectators make a donation directly to the cause, raising even more money for Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Online Registration & Payment Processing
When the tournament was organized by a much larger planning team, one member of the planning team handled all the money—processing paper registration forms and checks, sending receipts, and tracking payments. With a one-man show for this year’s event, Chad says the online registration and payment collection aspects of using GolfStatus was the best upgrade for the event. “I barely had to do anything with it,” he points out, as the platform sends automated receipts upon registration. As an organizer, he could quickly and easily see who had registered in the software’s back-end. “The value behind this was priceless,” he says. What’s more, he heard from golfers how easy it was to register and nice to get a receipt immediately. “It’s expected to have online registration today.” he says.
“The value behind this was priceless.”
Sponsor Recruitment & Recognition
Chad has worked with a core group of vendors and partners to support the golf event over its 22-year tenure, but has continued to explore new avenues and opportunities to attract additional sponsor support. “When we partner with a new hotel through the Council, it opens doors to a new set of sponsors,” Chad explains. The golf event’s website and accompanying free GolfStatus mobile app gives sponsors a ton of digital exposure for their investment, before, during, and after the tournament.
Easy Communication
Chad used the platform’s built-in messaging feature to send emails directly to registrants, alerting them of updates and specifics about the event. He used it to share information about the day’s timeline, where folks should check in, and the included breakfast. Since all registration information is stored in the platform, there was no need for him to export email addresses into another service to send a simple email—it could all be handled within GolfStatus.
CMN Partnership
GolfStatus has partnered with CMN Hospitals to help event organizers—whether they’re passionate supporters, hospitals or hospital foundations, corporate partners, businesses, or other volunteers—put on a golf tournament to benefit member hospitals. A common technology platform makes it as easy as possible for anyone to organize a golf fundraiser and raise even more money. Marriott’s continued commitment to children’s hospitals is evident in its support of this technology for golf events that benefit CMN Hospitals. What’s more, Chad made sure representatives from Children’s Hospital Colorado were able to share information and explain the tournament’s impact on the hospital, making a connection to the cause the tournament was supporting.
Golf & Fundraising Success
In Chad’s 22 years organizing the golf tournament fundraiser, he’s seen the impact it has in raising money for Children’s Hospital Colorado and the benefit for participating hotels. “So much business is done on the golf course,” he points out. “Whether you’re a good golfer or not, you can still make connections and do business while raising money and having fun.” Chad says his number one focus is to bring the hotels together to raise awareness and funds for the hospital. “We could throw a dinner party or do something different but we wouldn’t have the success of a golf tournament,” he says. “A golf tournament has staying power.”
“Whether you’re a good golfer or not, you can still make connections and do business while raising money and having fun.”
Growing With the Event
Though Chad was a one-man show in organizing the event this year, his goal is to build the Business Council back and involve more folks in the golf fundraiser again. “The GolfStatus team made it super easy,” he says, explaining that it would be simple to collaborate with a planning team in the future. “I don’t know that I can ever go back to how I used to do it!”
Golf for Good
GolfStatus’s Golf for Good giveback initiative through GolfStatus.org helps nonprofits and those holding events benefiting them streamline their golf events to save time and raise more money. It starts with a free event website and no-cost access to GolfStatus’s event management and fundraising platform for qualifying organizations and events. Get qualified here or email events@golfstatus.org.