Here’s the video announcement for the new boutique hotel brand being launched by Marriott. Ian Schrager, king of boutique hotels, is involved. Yikes! I hope they’re not getting too hip for me.
You can pick up more Marriott related news videos on their YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/marriottnews.
I saw the news today over on the Marriott On The Move blog that Marriott has launched a food blog called Marriott In The Kitchen.
This new blog is penned by Brad Nelson. Brad is the vice president culinary and corporate chef of Marriott International. There are four posts on the blog right now and I’m looking forward to future updates. Each of the posts currently on the site has a picture that relates to the story in the post.
Food has been an integral part of my experience while staying at Marriott hotels on business. Since the hotel is usually the place where we start and end the day, breakfast and dinner options are especially important. Every Marriott brand offers something a little different so its good to have a place to get information on trends in cuisine at the various hotels.
For the record, my favorite breakfasts were always at Residence Inn. I like the buffet style service that allows me to pick up a quick and healthy hot meal before starting the day. Breakfast in the concierge lounge at the Marriott brand hotels comes in a close second. Again, nice to have a place where I can grab a quick bit with a variety of fruits and cereals.
For dinner I always preferred the really good room service at the JW Marriott brand hotels. Most of the time I traveled solo so it was nice to be able to have a good dinner in the room where I could work or relax in privacy. The Residence Inn comes in second for dinner options. They don’t serve dinner at the Residence Inn but having a small kitchen is sometimes a good thing. Sometimes I’d prefer an economical and healthy meal rather than a big dinner. A kitchen allows me to exercise that preference.
Marriott recently announced that they would be offering free WiFi in public areas at five of their brands in U.S. and Canada. The list includes two of my Marriott favorites Courtyard and Residence Inn.
Marriott says in their press release, “Having introduced free guest room high-speed and WiFi Internet access three years ago, these five Marriott brands are again responding to guests’ needs, eliminating WiFi charges for guests in lobbies and other public areas.”
Its not just business travelers who want to be connected these days so this is a welcome move. Connectivity in general should be a priority for all hotels. And that idea includes cellular connectivity as well.
There have been plenty of instances where myself and a colleague have wanted to work in the lounge or breakfast area after hours so we could sit at a larger table. Sometimes we couldn’t do it because we lost our net connection. This will help prevent those sorts of problems.
Marriott PR alerted me to a new brand within the Marriott brand today. Marriott is teaming up with Nickelodeon to create Nickelodeon Resorts by Marriott.
There is a site announcing the launch here. Looks interesting.
As a parent of a young daughter I can say that I know I will be looking for family friendly resorts in the future. Given the following statement on the press release website, “a breakthrough new lodging resort brand and concept for travelers seeking fun and adventure, “Nickelodeon Resorts by Marriott,” with 20 potential hotels expected to be under construction by 2020.” my daughter may be a little too old for something like this by the time the properties mature.
The first resort is slated to open in San Diego in 2010. So if we’re headed in that direction I’ll keep the Nick Marriott combo in mind. Til then, I think it would be great if Marriott could come up with a family strategy that could be applied to their existing brands. A couple of things I can think of that would be great:
My last trip with the family definitely gave me some good ideas.
I was recently afforded the privilege of getting a preview of the now public Plug In To Marriott campaign recently launched by Marriott Hotels. Some of the folks in Marriott public relations and advertising are watching the blog (Hi all!) and invited me to impart my opinion on the campaign.
I don’t really know a lick about advertising or public relations but I do know what I like in a hotel. What I saw and heard about the campaign from their new website at www.plugintomarriott.com looked really promising. Certain rooms at a growing list of Marriott hotels have what really amounts to a digital media center that will allow you to plug in and get the benefits of your various portable media devices. This media center also doubles as a very nice flat panel television.
So you can plug in your laptop and work via the flat screen tv display. You can plug in your mp3 player and take advantage of stereo sound throughout the room. You can also plug in a DVD player, digital camera or camcorder as well. Portable game systems are pluggable as well. The setup will definitely be a boon to folks like me who travel with gadgets. The camera and game options sound great for family vacations.
I welcome the addition of upgraded technology in hotel rooms. It really helps to be in a place that fits the digital lifestyle (if that’s up your alley) when you have to be away at home. With something like this the implementation is as important as the announcement though. The systems need to work. I’m sure that won’t be a problem. One potential issue I mentioned to the Marriott team involved cables. What if I forget or just don’t have the right cable? Would be nice to have some standard loaners available at the front desk.
The reservation process is affected here as well. I think it’s really important for people to be able to get a guarantee for these rooms ahead of time. If such a room is not available I think that’s okay. But a traveler should also be able to definitively reserve a plugged in room if one is available at the time of booking.
I also heard that Marriott is planning to provide a video tutorial on the system which will be accessible via the television. I think that’s a good idea so people can understand and get the most out of the capabilities of these new rooms.
One thing I would like to see associated with this effort which I forgot to mention while on the call with the Marriott team was RSS feeds. How about an RSS feed (or email updates) to provide updates on the list of hotels that have these special rooms? For the moment you can go to the Plug In website to view the list of 25 hotels that have added this very special digital amenity.
There’s a story in USA Today stating that Marriott will remove trans fats from foods served in their hotels.
According to the article, “Marriott’s change is effective companywide, including the Renaissance, Courtyard and Residence Inn brands. It applies to food served at restaurants, banquets and in rooms.”
I think this is good news. I don’t eat in the hotel that much but when I do I like to have more healthy choices. This would be a home run in my view if Marriott not only removed the trans fats from exisiting foods but also adjusted the menu to include items that have less overall fat, more whole grains and higher nutrient value.
It’s been a while. I haven’t done much traveling over the past month that required a hotel stay. Although I did stay in the Residence Inn Westborough for three nights last week.
And I just got word yesterday that Bill Marriott, yes that Bill Marriott, has launched a blog. The blog is titled Marriott On The Move.
Mr. Marriott seems a little unsteady in his first blog post. He offers, “Truth be told, I’m not very good with computers, although I couldn’t do business in today’s fast-paced economy without my cell phone…” That’s fine. We all start somewhere with blogging. Mr. Marriott also offers, “Blogging will allow me to do what I’ve been doing for years — on a global scale. Talking to the customer comes easily to me.”
Blogs are a great way to communicate with customers. So this is a welcome addition to my travel related RSS feeds.
On the technical side the blog has RSS, trackbacks and comments. These are all things that help to make blogs social experiences. A number of people have jumped in on the comments already.
Good job folks. I look forward to future posts.
Tags: Marriott, Marriott On The Move
This is very welcome news coming from Marriott. Yes, they are going totally smoke free in all of their hotels starting in September.
I know I’ve dealt with the stress of accidentally being assigned a smoking room when rooms are tight at a hotel or when I make a last minute reservation. So that’s one less worry and one more chance that I’ll have a pleasurable business travel experience. I’m sure this move will save Marriott in maintenance costs as well. Smoking in rooms definitely shortens the life of the paint, carpet and furniture.
According to Marriott’s press release, “The new policy includes all guest rooms, restaurants, lounges, meeting rooms, public space and employee work areas.”
I was thinking about this recently and wondering why hotel chains weren’t going the total no smoking route. Now that Marriott has taken the lead I’m sure that other chains will follow.
Marriott reports that their Renaissance Hotels brand will offer free parking for hybrid vehicle drivers between now and the end of the year.
According to the Marriott press release,”Effective now through December 31, 2006, guests staying, attending a meeting or dining in the restaurant at a participating Renaissance can park their hybrid for free.”
I don’t happen to drive a hybrid vehicle, but this is a nice way to encourage hybrid owners to drive up and spend some time at a Renaissance brand hotel.
Tags: Marriott, Renaissance Hotels
Word comes from Marriott that they have begun rolling out dedicated airline check-in stations for placement in the lobbies of their hotels. The check-in stations will allow Marriott guests to print out boarding passes for all major airlines.
According to Marriott’s press release, “The new service will be available at all Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Renaissance Hotels & Resorts in the United States and Canada. Installation has been completed at 32 hotels already and will be available at nearly 150 more within the next two weeks. The company is targeting September for the new check-in service to be offered at every U.S. and Canadian hotel, more than 400 in total.”
I often have my boarding passes faxed to the hotel using Continental Airlines online check-in. A hotel employee usually brings the boarding pass up to my room so having these kiosks will likely save time for hotel employees as well as travelers.