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Michael L. Fulton, a boyish-looking bank chairman from America's heartland, shone in the limelight. In a $3,500-a-night hotel suite high above Times Square, paparazzi took his photo with actor Jack Klugman, and Broadway stars sang to piano accompaniment.
Last week Mr. Fulton became the millionth guest at the New York Marriott Marquis, which celebrates its second anniversary in September.
"I used to stay at the Hilton and Sheraton," he says. "I guess it pays to switch sometimes."
The occasion trumpeted the success of Marriott Corp.'s biggest gamble: a 1,877-room convention hotel in seedy Times Square. The hotel has filled more rooms than expected, and is reportedly making money on an operating basis.
But all this has been accomplished by offering large groups deep discounts, dropping its average room rate below projections. To become a big moneymaker for its parent, and to push along the revitalization of Times Square, the Marquis will have to attract transient business, the tourists and commercial travelers who pay higher room rates. The hotel continues to be dogged by labor difficulties, and at least one nearby hotel project has been canceled.
"Five years ago, this property was seen as a major risk, a bet-the-company deal," says Roger J. Dow, vice president-sales and marketing for Marriott. "I thought the millionth guest would be here in 1990."
The Marquis has been controversial from day one. It displaced two theaters, its design was savaged by architecture critics, and its opening was delayed by construction problems. It far overran its budget, costing an estimated $450 million to $500 million.
But this year it should produce $125 million in revenue. Several analysts say this is enough...