Marc Schwarz

Director of Service Thrive Hospitality

I started my journey in hospitality at age 11 with my first restaurant job, and by 17, I was running a summer stock theater bar. At 18, I was managing a restaurant bar while still in college in New York City, where I also took acting classes. It was there I met a guy who worked as a bellman at The Royalton Hotel. He got me an interview, and that set the stage for my 12-year journey with Ian Schrager Hotels. I kicked off at Morgans, moved on to Mondrian, and wrapped up at Hudson.

Ian Schrager was hands-on and deeply involved at Morgans, and I’ll never forget him welcoming us on our first day (I was one of five new hires). My time at ISH wasn’t a straight line—it was more like a patchwork quilt, built around booking acting gigs and creative projects. The beauty of ISH was that they didn’t just support this—they encouraged it, giving us the flexibility to take time off for auditions, classes, and jobs. Ian and his team understood what it meant to build a community where creativity and passion were just as important as service. We felt like we belonged. We were part of something bigger.

Our guests felt that energy, too. During my time at ISH, I held nearly every role you could think of—bellman, doorperson, concierge, security, room service—it didn’t matter what title was on the door. What mattered was taking care of people, and that’s always been the heart of hospitality. At the end of the day, it’s about making people feel like they’ve found a home away from home, and I got to be part of that story.

After my 12-year journey with Ian Schrager, I brought my passion for hospitality to the luxury auto world with Land Rover Jaguar, where I infused the heart of hospitality into every customer interaction. It was there that I met someone who ultimately created a Guest Experience Director role for me at his REIT—until the pandemic, of course, changed everything.

When the pandemic hit, I took my ‘soft skills’ and pivoted to a new challenge as Operations Director for the PA Department of Health, overseeing 75 people on the COVID Task Force. Turns out, hospitality can thrive in a call center too!

A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Colin Cowie, and shortly after, I joined his newly-formed Thrive Hospitality as Director of Service. It's been an incredible privilege to collaborate with him on creating an educational program that reflects his decades of expertise in crafting unforgettable experiences and putting people first, as outlined in his book The Gold Standard: Giving Your Customers What They Didn’t Know They Wanted. The Gold Standard is all about shaping the future of service education and redefining what exceptional hospitality looks like for tomorrow.