I just got back from visiting some of our beautiful hotels and resorts in the Caribbean. One of the stops I made was in Aruba to visit our Aruba Marriott Resort, which has just completed a big renovation. The property looks great, the staff is wonderful and the entire island is a terrific place to vacation. You can actually see for yourselves by watching the video below.
This video was created by Marriott associates and stars Gregory Millard, a bartender at the resort, and was submitted as an entry into Marriott's LAKE Film Festival. LAKE stands for Local Area Knowledge Expertise. We think it's very important that our associates be experts on not just their hotels, but their surrounding neighborhoods to ensure that our guests have the best experience possible while staying at the hotel.
Our film festival began as way to get our associates excited about becoming local area knowledge experts, but we've found that these short videos are very useful tools for our guests. So, we created a site where you can see all the videos that have been submitted by hotels from Hong Kong to Hollywood. The videos show our guests what they can expect from the hotel and the local area, as well as the level of service they'll receive, before they even begin their trip.
The film festival has been a huge success. We're thrilled that we just received a platinum award from Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International. The deadline for submitting videos is April 17, so keep checking back to see the latest entries. And once all the videos have been submitted, you'll have a chance to vote for your very favorite. I hope you'll take a look and leave me a comment about your favorites so far.
I'm Bill Marriott and thanks for helping me keep Marriott on the move.
Questions About Local Information
This is one of the things that truly amazes me when making a Marriott reservation or staying at a Marriott property. The reservation agents have instant access to just about everything you want to know about a particular hotel or area - and if a particular staff member does not know the answer, they can always find someone who does
Posted by: Mike W. | 02/24/2009 at 01:20 AM
Great story and video tour of Marriott's Aruba resort. I write often about Marriott resorts and enjoy this blog. Great insight about upcoming events and developments from one of the greatest resort developers of all time!
Posted by: Paul | 02/24/2009 at 12:39 AM
I looked at staying at the Aruba Marriott recently and by looking at the video and recent pictures online, I wish I had - the new renovation looks amazing. My favorite hotel anywhere is definitely the CasaMagna Marriott in Cancun, it is beautiful, classy, and absolutely polished in every sense.
Awhile back I found a link to the Marriott Mexico/Caribbean Resorts website on a travel forum. What an excellent website - it provided detailed brochures and videos of hotel staff showcasing different areas of their resort. To me, that website makes the decision making easier when choosing where to stay and really highlights the excellent resorts Marriott has in that region. Keep up the great work!
Posted by: Jason | 02/23/2009 at 04:51 PM
What a great idea! I have only taken the time to look at a few videos, but have bookmarked the site for later. Not only is this good for those wanting to research Marriott properties, but great for your associates too!
Thanks!
Posted by: Hank Mancini | 02/23/2009 at 01:24 AM
Dear Mr. Marriott,
Those clips are looking really fine; and Greg that was one very nice tour of your premises. I'll be sure to ask around for you to pour me that drink you promised the hotel guests because the Aruba Marriott will be my destination when I want to spend my honeymoon.
Posted by: Feras Werr | 02/22/2009 at 11:38 PM
Syed T. A. Naqvi, Washington DC area - I have stayed at at a number of Marriott properties in the Caribbean. My favorite that has the best service is J W Marriott/Casa Magna in Cancun, Mexico. In over a thousand nights at a Marriott, the breakfast service from Enrique *. *. is the absolute best. He aced out the great service in China. Thank you Syed T. A. Naqvi
Posted by: Syed (Stan) T. A. Naqvi | 02/22/2009 at 10:00 AM
Hi, a year ago I posted the history of the Marriott family and still today is the most popular post in my blog, with like 100 visits daily, bringing a lot of traffic to the site!
Wow the one thing I love about Marriott it's the innovation, and this is another prove of it!
I have a question though, and it's got nothing to do with this fabulous initiative, but about the renovations of your hotels. When do you do it?, every three years? four?, or it depends...
I will very much appreciate to know because I'm starting a business as a supplier of furniture for hotels.
Thaks and congratulations for still being numero uno!
Posted by: Carla | 02/22/2009 at 08:25 AM