Travel and hospitality | Marriott International Corporation

Marriott
Four star
by Charlotte Jane Dyson
July 28, 2003

What better way is there to relax than under endless blue skies, eating good food and running along sandy beaches? Never mind the stress of booking your tickets, finding your passport and waiting at the airport, the Internet has arrived to alleviate your holiday hassles.

In the hotel business, as in the service industry in general, first impressions matter; a concept not lost on the designers of Marriott.com. Beautiful settings, golden sands and sunny golf courses abound from page one. For those who already know their holiday destination, the Find and Reserve tool is ideal, allowing immediate access to what is available and at what cost.

But for those who are still in the browsing stage, delving deeper yields an extraordinary amount of detail on each hotel -- amenities, sport and recreation facilities, restaurant and lounge information, local area companies, extra facilities, local attractions -- the list is endless. Considering that the Marriott has in excess of 2500 lodgings over 64 countries and territories, this is a lot of information. For some of the more far-flung locations you can view the hotel and the scenery. Can’t afford to go to Thailand? Load the pictures for a virtual photo tour and dream (particularly useful on a Monday morning.)

Having decided on your location, an important detail is, of course, reaching the hotel. Enter your address and location or click on the airport link, and you are provided with basic driving directions and a map. Marriott also teams up with travel experts Fodor’s to provide short descriptions of cities and surrounding areas for the curious traveler.

A large part of the Marriott business comprises events and conferences. The Events & Meetings section allays any concerns about what to expect. Also included are a step-by-step guide to planning the perfect conference or wedding and online tools that allow you to calculate how much space you need to what kind of budget you should allow.

Charlotte Jane Dyson is a marketing consultant. She lives in Yorkshire, England, and spent 14 years in consumer marketing with Nestlé.

*Due to the constantly changing environment of websites, some reviews may no longer reflect the current website for this brand.


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