Marriott on the Move

I've always been a big fan of Willard Scott. I love to watch him on The Today Show when he showcases Americans who have celebrated their 100th birthdays. In fact, I used to tell my mom I was sure she'd live to be 100, but she didn't quite make it. She was so excited about the possibility of being on Willard's show.

So it was with great pleasure that I cut the birthday cake as our Marriott Plaza Hotel in Buenos Aires celebrated its 100th birthday. This hotel has been in the Marriott portfolio since 1994, and we're honored to fly our flag at such a prestigious hotel so rich with history and to celebrate such a wonderful occasion.

As I looked at the guest list, I found out that Teddy Roosevelt stayed at the Plaza, along with Charles de Gaulle and King Juan Carlos of Spain. I first stayed at the hotel in 1967 when . . .

Our Executive Vice President of Marriott's global full-service hotel brands, Don Semmler, recently asked why we used the family name on our first hotel almost 60 years ago. My father had acquired a large piece of land on U.S. Route 1 in Northern Virginia. He wanted to build a new commissary to service his growing chain of Hot Shoppes restaurants. But as he studied the location, he determined it had over 125,000 cars passing by every day as they approached the 14th Street Bridge entering Washington. He also knew he was only five minutes from National Airport and three minutes from the Pentagon. It seemed to him that this location was generating far too much traffic for a simple commissary. So he thought about what would be a better use for the property.

It was 1953 and Dwight D. Eisenhower was president and about to develop the Interstate Highway program. Motels were being built everywhere, but most were not very high quality. So Dad decided his location was a perfect motel site. He asked the Ver Standig ad agency, which did our Hot Shoppes promotion, what he should call his new venture. Well, somewhere in the Fort Worth, Texas, area a motor hotel had been built and Mr. Ver Standig said my father should call it a "Motor Hotel". He then said we needed a name to go with the motor hotel in a rhythmic way. Ver Standig suggested we use the brand "Marriott Motor Hotel" for our proposed 365-room facility.

I told Don Semmler the ad agency Said "Marriott Motor Hotel" had tintinnabulation. I said . . .

We all remember the media attention about the H1N1 flu strain earlier in the spring. Of course, much of the early attention was on Mexico, which had the first reported cases. The safety and health of our guests and associates is our number one priority at all times and we take great care to follow the appropriate hygiene and cleaning procedures. We were pleased that similar precautions allowed authorities to bring the situation rapidly under control in Mexico and elsewhere around the world.

However, the number of people traveling to Mexico dropped off significantly. In fact, we have lost over $6 million of business in Mexico due to this flu outbreak. That's really a shame as Mexico is one of my very favorite countries to travel. I've gone down there . . .

You may remember a blog I did awhile ago about getting slimed when Marriott announced we would be working with Nickelodeon. While it was a pretty messy experience, it was an honor and something I'll never forget. Since then, many people have asked me what it felt like, and now, everyone can find out for themselves!

Working with Nickelodeon, we've created a family-friendly entertainment program called Nickelodeon Getaway that will be rolled out at some of our hotels and resorts this summer. The program offers lots of fun activities for families like evening "dive-in" movies by the pool and breakfast with popular Nickelodeon characters like Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants!

Our first two hotels to offer the program are . . .

Almost everyone is feeling the effects of the current economic climate, but at Marriott we want to do everything we can to help you get away and travel. For starters, travel is good for business. But I also believe vacations and trips are a wonderful way to revive yourself during tough times and reconnect with friends and family.

That's why I'm thrilled to tell you about Marriott's newest travel promotion, The Global Rate Break. Starting today, you can book a weekend stay at more than 2,500 of our participating hotels around the world for 20% off! To see if it is available, visit www.marriott.com and use promotional code F5X. You must book . . .

These days, everybody can be a filmmaker using their digital cameras, Flip cameras and even cell phones. People love to share and watch others' videos. Our Renaissance hotels are participating in an online version of a film festival called MOFILM. Eleven other companies with strong brands like Kodak, Visa and AT&T are part of the festival, also.

Each company is asking fans and aspiring filmmakers to create short videos, no longer than two minutes, to tell a story for their brand. Renaissance is looking for sophisticated yet genuine videos that show how our hotels and resorts help travelers discover the world around them.

Each of the twelve companies will choose a winner, who will receive a prize from that particular brand. The Renaissance prize is really fantastic - our winner will receive a seven day, six night trip to a major film festival of their . . .