Original Story: Milwaukee / Hotel thinks pink to aid breast cancer on TwinCities.com
A Milwaukee hotel has unveiled two rooms decorated in a color most travelers don’t usually see much of: pink.
But the rooms at the InterContinental Milwaukee, a Marcus hotel, have a deeper meaning to three women on staff who were involved in what has become known as the Pink Room Project.
Bridget Gallagher’s grandmother, whose first diagnosis was 25 years earlier, lost a battle with breast cancer two years ago.
Sarah Geitner’s mom is a survivor. She was diagnosed while trying to become a bone-marrow donor for Geitner’s aunt, who had leukemia.
Susan Cusatis is a survivor herself, having been diagnosed in 2003.
The three women’s stories became the driving force behind the redesign of the rooms — and the reason they will help a local breast cancer support organization.
When Gallagher started working at InterContinental Milwaukee as the catering event manager three years ago, she met Geitner, an executive assistant at the hotel.
The two participated in several breast cancer awareness walks, such as the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, and formed a hotel team to raise more money at the events.
Gallagher and Geitner started thinking about other ways to contribute to breast cancer organizations and hit on the idea of having two pink guest rooms at the hotel, with a portion of the room rate going toward a breast cancer-related cause.
“We never thought it would get approved,” Gallagher said.
The women put together a presentation and took their plan to Tim Smith, general manager at InterContinental Milwaukee. Smith was impressed and took the idea to the hotel’s parent company, Marcus Corp.
According to Smith, everyone loved the idea and gave it the green light.
“We were completely in awe that they were going to let us do this,” Geitner said.
That’s when Cusatis, business travel manager at Marcus Hotels, got involved.
Cusatis mentors women who have diagnoses similar to hers through the After Breast Cancer Diagnosis Foundation. Having benefited from the personalized support the foundation provides, Cusatis suggested the local organization as a recipient of the Pink Room Project’s proceeds.
The redesign of the two rooms took almost a year and was harder than the women expected.
“You think pink is pink, but there are a million shades of pink,” said Smith, who brought in local designer Becky Howley to help.
The finished product includes pink bedding, pink tapestries, a pink laptop, a pink bathrobe and books about breast cancer.
Today, guests can reserve one or both of the pink rooms. With their stay, guests receive a $25 gift card to the hotel’s lounge, pink cupcakes and a pink room keepsake.
With each reservation, InterContinental Milwaukee donates $25 to the After Breast Cancer Diagnosis Foundation. Smith said the goal is to rent each room about 200 times a year in order to donate about $10,000 annually.
