Marriott Courtyard is rolling out new re-designed lobbies to appeal especially to business travelers, and they reached out to me to see if I’d be willing to share it with my readers. The offer? I could give away 2 free nights at any Marriott Courtyard in the Continental U.S., and they’d give me free nights for myself as well.
As regular visitors to View from the Wing know, when I get offers like these my first question is, “Do you mind if I just give away those nights to my readers as well?” And the answer is almost universally yes. I’ll wind up checking out the new lobbies in the normal course of my travels, I don’t need the free nights, I much enjoy giving them away to readers instead.
So that’s the offer — I have 2 sets of 2 free nights at any Marriott Courtyard in the Continental U.S. to give away! (With apologies to my international readers with no plans to visit the United States.)
I’m not a Marriott Rewards elite member, but Marriott more than anything else is known for its consistency. They’re everywhere. Many towns, a Marriott Courtyard or similar is the top option in town which makes it really useful and sometimes you just need a reliable place to sleep near a meeting. It’s great to see them being thoughtful about how to be more than just a room while maintaining a mid-level price point (though indeed, in some cities like New York one could hardly consider the price point mid-level, but then it ought to be compared to most other options!).
Here’s Marriott’s 30 second spot promoting their new lobby:
They’re holding events through December 16 at BWI, Houston Intercontinental, and Phoenix airports to promote the lobbies… couches for relaxation, luggage tags to give away.
They’ve renovated about 500 properties with better lobbies to allow groups to congregate, prepare for meetings, etc. Here’s the list of properties that have the new lobbies They have more stations with powerports, and a touch screen information TV. They’ve adopted a standard Bistro coffee/sandwhich place that’s apparently doing well with double digit percentage gains in sales.
Here’s how to enter to win:
- Leave a comment in this post naming something you especially value in a hotel when on business travel.
- Normally I say “one entry per person” and more than one will disqualify you. This time we’ll try something new. You may enter as many times as you like, however you may not enter twice in a row meaning that you have to have at least one other person comment after you before adding another comment/entry.
- The contest will last until 12pm Eastern on December 12. I will draw two winners who will each receive the two free nights with the help of Random.org. Winners will be put in touch with Marriott’s representative to claim their prize.
All interpretations are mine and final and I have no liability in this, all rules imposed by Marriott and their representatives will apply. I’m passing along an opportunity and making this available to my readers, I’ve not taken any compensation for doing so, let’s all treat this in this spirit with which it’s intended. By entering you indicate your agreement. Thanks!
Any questions, ask away!
Safe location.
Windows that open to let in fresh air.
Central heating and A/C, not one of those noisy window units.
Quiet and dark rooms for sleep.
A quiet row with free wifi
Suites, not just rooms.
Free Wireless Internet no doubt!
Good soundproofing (between rooms as well as outside and the hallway) and a quiet AC/heat unit
A quiet room.
Good and handy electrical outlets
Free Internet & quiet place.
A small peaceful bar in or near the lobby.
An absolutely quiet room–and neighbor rooms where the door doesn’t bang when they arrive at 1:00 a.m.
Definitely fast free wifi.
I value the high speed internet conenction, provided it really is “high speed”.
Comfortable beds.
Thanks!
A decent breakfast buffet
Feeling taken care of.
I wonder if the folks at Marriott will be reading these responses, because the one thing that I value the most is a good, complimentary breakfast, which I receive at full-service Marriotts and not at Courtyards. 🙁
Hmm, odds of winning have decreased for those who only remember to enter once. 🙂
Free WiFi, that’s my thing! Curse the hotels that only give it to elites – it isn’t my fault if my preferred brand doesn’t have a hotel in City XYZ but the competition does!
free parking for guests, charge everyone else, I’m already paying for a room.
Points!
I require convenient power outlets in the room
A cable package that includes more than just the basic channels, preferably one with HGTV and Food Network.
fast internet and good food
free and dependable wifi
Consistency
Free Wifi
I value a hot breakfast!
Tasty tasty breakfast.
Wifi
in-room refrigerator
A refrigerator that – if it has mini-bar items – still has room for my own items.
Valued: consistently fast WiFi.
Not valued: contests structured so that people who are willing to sit there and hit refresh all day and add new entries have a much better chance of winning. If you’re going to give away two prizes, I suggest you give away one prize accounting for duplicate entries and one prize only allowing one entry per person. (I can help you work out how to implement that reasonably straightforwardly, contact me privately.)
as others have said, free, dependable, fast wifi in rooms
Free wifi.
free wifi
Outlets. Lots of easily accessible outlets, including at least one, ideally two by the bed.
A comfortable bed/pillows
roomy
I like mini bars for business travel hotels.
a tea maker that doesn’t make my tea taste like coffee
A quiet room far from elevators.
free wi-fi is also good.
Consistency in info on services/amenities, please. I’ve stayed at properties where basic facts (pool/gym hours, airport shuttle hours/schedule, etc.) varied wildly across the website, in-room services guide, and front desk clerk’s statements.
a good speakerphone
free wi-fi is a must,, but also appreciate a really good bed
Good shower heads. SPG has the best.
an in-room fridge that’s empty so we can put our own stuff in there…
Wi-fi is good