Marriott, Renaissance Hotels Partner For New Short Film ‘Business Unusual’

Marriott Content Studio has already produced two short films for its online video portfolio, and now it’s adding a third. The digital production house of the international hotel chain will debut a new short film called Business Unusual in partnership with Marriott’s upscale Renaissance Hotels.

Written and directed by Daniel Malakai Cabrera and Caine Sinclair, Business Unusual is a twelve-minute film centered on two ad executives and former co-workers Chip and David, who are both trying to present their pitches to land a new client. David gets a second shot at his bumbling pitch after he meets a woman named Ella in his Chicago hotel’s bar and uses a Rube Goldberg machine to win the new business. Business Unusual stars Yoshua Sudarso (Power Rangers Dino Charge), Jason Gerhardt (General Hospital), Grant Bowler (Defiance, True Blood), Tia Carrere (Wayne’s World), and Brian Poli-Dixon (artist, actor, and former NFL receiver).

The Marriott and Renaissance short film also integrates a roster of local Chicago icons and performers. Filmed at the renovated Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel, Business Unusual features action shots of athletes and dancers from the performance group Substance Over Hype, who worked with Marriott for the stunts in the hotel chain’s second short film Two Bellmen. Chicago natives Ozzie Guillen (former White Sox player) and the band The O’My’s will also make cameos in Business Unusual, with The O’My’s also contributing to the film’s soundtrack comprised solely of musicians based in the Windy City.

“Renaissance Hotels is designed for the today’s business travelers, who see travel as an opportunity to experience something new and unexpected, so they come away with a new perspective — whether that’s from experiencing the local neighborhood around our hotel or simply stumbling into a live performance, a mixology demonstration or an art exhibit in the programmed public spaces,” said Dan Vinh, Vice President Marketing at Renaissance Hotels, in a release. “Business Unusual incorporates cameos with strong Chicago ties to demonstrate the importance of Renaissance Hotel’s passion for incorporating unexpected, indigenous and local elements into the guest experience.”

“Brands must stop interrupting what consumers are interested in and become what they are interested in, and short films driven by storytelling vs. advertising are just one of the many ways we are engaging with next generation travelers,” added David Beebe, Marriott International’s VP of Global Creative and Content Marketing. “Not only do the short films and other projects from the Marriott Content Studio engage an audience, they inspire them to travel, and drive revenue for our hotels, and we’ve found the right recipe for mixing art and commerce together to win the hearts, minds, and wallets of travelers globally.”

Cabrera, Sinclair, Vinh, and Beebe executive produce Business Unusual alongside Scott Ehrlich and William Spencer. Marriott and Renaissance will release the short film globally across various digital platforms, as well as in select theaters, some time in early 2016.