Industry: Hospitality | Project Type: New Build | Location: British Columbia, Canada
Brand: Marriott | Units Installed: 117
SUMMARY: A contractor in British Columbia needed to win a competitive bid on a Marriott new build without sacrificing brand compliance. The problem: MUA requirements are specific, and the typical industry solution is over-engineered and overpriced. We worked alongside them as a technical partner—spec’ing 117 Genuine Comfort Ultra Series Inverter PTACs to exact Marriott standards, paired with full Verdant EMS smart integration. They submitted a compliant, competitive package. And they won.
Introduction
Winning a bid and meeting brand standards shouldn’t be a trade-off.
For contractors quoting on hospitality new builds, Make-up Air requirements add a layer of complexity that most suppliers don’t help navigate.
The typical path–default to the industry standard unit, hope the price is competitive–leaves contractors exposed. Either they lose the bid on cost, or they win it with a spec that over-delivers on price and under-delivers on margin.
There’s a better way to approach it.
The Problem
The contractor was caught between two pressures.
They were quoting a Marriott new build in British Columbia and needed to hit brand compliance on MUA without pricing themselves out of the job.
The usual industry solution meant going with generic, over-built units priced at a mark-up that made competitive bidding difficult.
The industry standard is convenient. It’s also how someone else’s margin eats up your quote.
Winning with the wrong spec creates a different problem.
Over-spec’d units create noise problems, drive up energy costs, and don’t reflect well on the contractor when the property owner starts asking questions about the line items.
The contractor knew they needed a supplier who could do more than send a price list.
The Approach
Rather than handing over a catalogue and stepping back, we worked alongside them through the full submittal process.
Competitive Positioning
We moved the spec away from one-size-fits-all units and built the quote around what the rooms actually required. That meant lower costs, less noise, and a package that could stand up to scrutiny from both the brand and the owner.
Compliance Confidence
Marriott has specific MUA requirements. We knew them. The contractor didn’t have to figure it out alone. We provided the technical support to make sure every unit in the submittal met brand standards.
Local Support
With 7 warehouses across North America, including one in BC, we could back the quote with real availability. A competitive price only holds if the product actually shows up on time.
The Solution: Project Breakdown
The final spec centered on 117 Genuine Comfort Ultra Series Inverter PTACs with Integrated Make-up Air, paired with a full smart tech stack.
| Unit | Qty | BTU (Cooling) | Heat | Coverage |
| GC42U-H09KC3-1-M | 117 | 9,000 BTU | 3.5 KW | Per guest room |
| Verdant EMS Suite | 117 | — | — | Full property |
| Door Lock Integration | 117 | — | — | Per unit |
| PMS Integration | 1 | — | — | Property-wide |
Smart Integration
The full Verdant EMS suite, including Door Lock and PMS Integration, creates a set-and-forget system for the property once it’s handed over. Guest arrival and departure triggers unit behaviour automatically, reducing energy waste and removing the need for manual management.
Risk Mitigation
A 6-year Genuine-Care warranty covers the entire install. For the contractor, that’s a clean handover. For the owner, it’s long-term ROI protection against the kind of unexpected costs that erode margins well after the build is done.
The Takeaway
Competitive and compliant aren’t mutually exclusive.
Contractors lose bids (or win them at the wrong margin) because the default industry approach is built around convenience, not fit. When you have a supplier who understands brand requirements and builds the spec from the room up, the quote gets sharper and the submittal gets stronger.
That’s not just a pricing advantage, it’s a reason to win.