Detroit's first JW Marriott fills out its opening team
JW Marriott Detroit Water Square introduced its executive committee in a release dated 30 September 2026. The hotel opens in February 2027. DBusiness carried the appointments on 30 September 2026, and LODGING magazine's weekly Comings & Goings carried them the same day. hotel-online.com republished the release on 8 October 2026 under an 8 October dateline. Axios reported on the hotel's debut plans on 6 October 2026.
The release calls the hotel Detroit's first JW Marriott. MLive reports the property is marketed as the city's first luxury convention hotel. The building runs 25 stories with 601 guest rooms, including 44 suites and a 2,100-square-foot Presidential Suite. The release body leads with more than 600 guest rooms.
The hotel sits on the Detroit River in the Water Square district and adds more than 53,000 square feet of meeting and event space. A skybridge connects the property to Huntington Place, the 2.4-million-square-foot convention center downtown. The release states that the hotel has booked more than 50 meetings and events ahead of the opening.
The eight appointments
LODGING's 30 September Comings & Goings names the full committee. Joleisha Bradley takes the general manager post, with Scott Stinebaugh as director of sales and marketing, John Ridge as director of finance and accounting, Lisa Procter as director of human resources, Dale Reyes as director of event planning, Desmond Vasquez as resident manager, Daniele Trivero as director of food and beverage and Erhan Buyukdereli as director of engineering.
Bradley carries nearly 30 years of hospitality experience across operations, team development and property openings. She most recently served as general manager of Dearborn Inn, Autograph Collection, where she led the hotel's reopening after a renovation. She runs the pre-opening program and the opening team.
Stinebaugh brings more than 30 years of hospitality sales and marketing experience. He most recently held the same role at The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit. His earlier career includes The Ritz-Carlton and the launch of The Westin Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
Trivero most recently served as executive chef at The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner. His career includes pre-opening work at The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas and JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity.
“This executive committee brings together deep Detroit and Marriott experience across every facet of the hotel operation and sales,” Bradley said. “As we build the opening team and prepare to welcome our first guests, we're focused on creating an experience that feels distinctly connected to Detroit while delivering on the standards expected of the JW Marriott brand.”
Food, drink and wellness
Four dining concepts are planned. Verena is an all-day American restaurant, The Assembly is a lobby bar with river views and JW Market is a grab-and-go cafe. Joe Muer Seafood + Chops is a new concept from a Detroit institution. The Detroit News reported on 18 May 2026 that Joe Muer Seafood + Chops holds the flagship restaurant slot at the property.
The release describes an 11,000-square-foot Spa by JW. Its boilerplate describes more than 11,000 square feet of wellness space including Spa by JW with nine waterfront treatment rooms, a 24-hour fitness center and a 50-foot indoor lap pool.
What the opening puts into the Detroit market
The release puts the JW Marriott brand at over 130 properties worldwide in its main text. Its closing paragraph states more than 125 JW Marriott hotels in 41 countries and territories. Marriott's own first-quarter 2026 results schedule lists JW Marriott at 130 properties and 50,891 rooms as of 31 March 2026.
The hotel's own 53,000 square feet of event space sits behind the skybridge door to Huntington Place. The pre-opening book of more than 50 meetings and events rests on the release and is the number to track between now and the February 2027 debut. The release directs readers to marriott.com/dtwjd.