Marriott Named #1 for Business Travelers in TripAdvisor Survey

The 2006 TripAdvisor (TM) global survey of business travelers named Marriott the most preferred hotel for business trips.

The survey was conducted among a TripAdvisor (TM) traveler panel consisting of more than 2,100 respondents from around the world. From destination to guestroom, the survey analyzed business traveler preferences and the results strongly aligned with Marriott International's (NYSE:MAR) guest services and amenities.

According to the TripAdvisor (TM) survey, nearly 70 percent of business travelers are brand loyal. Marriott enjoys strong brand preference.

From first contact to check-out, Marriott's Spirit To Serve Our Guests strategy engages the customer in key service experiences; calls to reservations now pre-identify guest preferences; Marriott's Rewarding Welcome allows hotels globally to recognize guest preferences at check- in; a virtual concierge lets guests select special amenities and services online; DreamRewards Tracker helps Marriott Rewards members track points toward their dream vacations; and with eFolio, guests can have their hotel bills e-mailed to them for their North American Marriott stays.

35 percent of the survey respondents say the most appealing part of traveling for work is seeing new places. An industry first, available at more than 2,500 hotels and resorts worldwide, Marriott's pre-arrival e-mail helps guests get the most out of their visit by providing the latest information on weather, transportation, events and attractions, local restaurants and other entertainment.

34 percent of the survey respondents also said they look for luxurious bed and bath amenities. The new Marriott bed features a feathered mattress topper, 300-thread-count sheets, a white sheeted duvet freshly laundered for each new guest, stylish euro shams, a decorative bed scarf and more pillows. In the bath, Marriott Hotels & Resorts offer a custom line of Bath & Body Works (R) Energizing Aromatherapy products and Archive (R) personal amenities, while Renaissance Hotels & Resorts offer products from Lather (R).

High-speed Internet access ranks as one of the more important hotel features. Marriott leads the industry with high-speed Internet access, globally, at all Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard, Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn, TownePlace Suites and SpringHill Suites hotels.

Enhancing this amenity and unique to Marriott International, are the connectivity panel and flat-panel, digital HDTV, which are currently being rolled out in JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Renaissance Hotels & Resorts. A desk-level panel offers ample power outlets and connections enabling guests to connect laptops and personal entertainment devices, including DVD players, MP3 players, camcorders and video games into the television. Guests just plug in their devices and the system does the setup automatically. Both connectivity panel and HDTV set are built to Marriott's specifications and can perform dual functions simultaneously serving as great tools for business travelers.

Marriott Rewards has been named "Best Hotel Rewards Program" by the readers of Business Traveler, Global Traveler, Travel Savvy, Executive Travel and BusinessWeek magazines. Marriott Rewards captured eight first-place finishes and 23 top three finishes out of 25 categories at the 2006 Freddie Awards, more than any other guest loyalty program. The Freddie Awards are determined by the readers of Inside Flyer magazine.

With 2,600 participating hotels and 25 million members worldwide, Marriott Rewards provides travelers the opportunity to get to the places they dream of 30 percent faster than with other leading programs.* For information about Marriott Rewards or to enroll, call (800) 249-0800, visit the front desk of participating hotels, or log onto marriottrewards.com.

*Comparison based on seven nights at Starwood, Hilton, InterContinental Hotel Group and Hyatt full-service hotels of similar quality and points earned on dollars spent. Assumes standard award offerings for base-level members. All comparisons made as of 6/06.

Source: Marriott International, Inc.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2006 /PRNewswire/ --

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