This is a video of City Hall (not Independence Hall as I incorrectly state in the video) in Philadelphia which also includes a shot of the outside of the Courtyard by Marriott.
I recently had a short but pleasant stay at the Marriott Courtyard Philadelphia Downtown. This is not your typical Courtyard since it is located in downtown Philadelphia. The building is a high rise in the pre-war architectural style. My king bed guest room had a high ceiling and crown moldings to compliment the features of the room.
One thing that wasn’t such a good experience was the parking. This particular Marriott is in the middle of a very busy circular traffic pattern. And the hotel is situated on a corner such that you have to pull up into a very short driveway to gain access to the front entrance. I pulled up to the front of the hotel and was greeted by a nice valet who offered to park the car. The valet service was great and welcome since I had been driving for hours. What wasn’t welcome was the $40 per day fee charge for parking the car.
I tend to do a bit of research before embarking on a trip to a new city. I’ll admit that I did very little research prior to this trip to Philadelphia. When heading to a big city it is definitely advisable to call the hotel and inquire about parking options in advance. Questions to ask include: Do you have parking at the hotel? How much does it? Are there other options nearby? What do the other options cost?
It would be nice though if each hotel that had valet parking also has a very visible sign that showed the daily rate as well as a lower cost (or free) option that is close by. This way when I pull up to the hotel I can think for a minute about whether or not I want to pay whatever daily fee they are charging for valet parking.
This tactic goes against the whole upsell nature of the hotel industry. So local hotels might see a drop in valet parking fees collected due to people thinking twice and selecting more reasonably priced options. But I bet it also means that more travelers will be satisfied. There will be fewer surprises at checkout. And more customers will feel good about the fact that the hotel was so upfront about the parking situation. After all, customer satisfaction is something that can’t always be measured in dollars.
It wouldn’t surprise me if such an open parking policy resulted in increased expenditures by travelers in other areas. Marriott has been known to be a leader on lodging issues (like the smoke free lodging policy) that matter to travelers. A more open policy towards parking, especially in city centers, would be another strong differentiator to set Marriott apart from other hotel brands.
Marriott recently announced that they would be offering free WiFi in public areas at five of their brands in U.S. and Canada. The list includes two of my Marriott favorites Courtyard and Residence Inn.
Marriott says in their press release, “Having introduced free guest room high-speed and WiFi Internet access three years ago, these five Marriott brands are again responding to guests’ needs, eliminating WiFi charges for guests in lobbies and other public areas.”
Its not just business travelers who want to be connected these days so this is a welcome move. Connectivity in general should be a priority for all hotels. And that idea includes cellular connectivity as well.
There have been plenty of instances where myself and a colleague have wanted to work in the lounge or breakfast area after hours so we could sit at a larger table. Sometimes we couldn’t do it because we lost our net connection. This will help prevent those sorts of problems.
I’ve talked about this before but the discussion is continuing. Jeremiah posts about the future of hotel websites.
Small chains are smart to create a different kind of internet experience for their customers. Big chains like Marriott should do the same thing. Time to get the hotel wiki going!
Marriott PR alerted me to a new brand within the Marriott brand today. Marriott is teaming up with Nickelodeon to create Nickelodeon Resorts by Marriott.
There is a site announcing the launch here. Looks interesting.
As a parent of a young daughter I can say that I know I will be looking for family friendly resorts in the future. Given the following statement on the press release website, “a breakthrough new lodging resort brand and concept for travelers seeking fun and adventure, “Nickelodeon Resorts by Marriott,” with 20 potential hotels expected to be under construction by 2020.” my daughter may be a little too old for something like this by the time the properties mature.
The first resort is slated to open in San Diego in 2010. So if we’re headed in that direction I’ll keep the Nick Marriott combo in mind. Til then, I think it would be great if Marriott could come up with a family strategy that could be applied to their existing brands. A couple of things I can think of that would be great:
- Family Rooms – sort of like suites but with things (like a dirty diaper container) that would help families with small children.
- Family Care Paks – packages with diapers, sanitary wipes, milk and bottled water so people have basic supplies when they arrive.
My last trip with the family definitely gave me some good ideas.
Identifying Information
Marriott Brand: Residence Inn
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Property Web Page: Residence Inn Beverly Hills
Common Areas: Highrise hotel with seven floors above the lobby. Below the lobby there are two floors which include and exercise room, guest laundry and a spa. Breakfast room and lounge area are in the lobby just past the reception desk.
Guest Rooms: Stayed in a studio suite with a small kitchenette. Rooms are generally smaller than typical Residence Inn properties.
Other Amenities: Wired and wireless high speed internet access are free. On site valet parking is $20 per day. Complimentary shuttle available to destinations within five miles of the hotel.
Things To Watch Out For: In studios, the small dining table is cramped and also serves as the desk. You may bump into post operative plastic surgery patients in the breakfast area. Higher floor rooms have views of downtown L.A. and Hollywood sign.
Staff: Attentive staff to help with bags and park the car. Valet service was always quick and friendly.
Beverly Drive shopping district is about a five minute walk north of the hotel. Rodeo Drive shopping district is also in walking distance. Lots of shops and restaurants in both those areas. Adjacent residential areas are quiet and good for a nice walk or jog. Ralph’s Supermarket, Office Depot and Coffee Bean coffee house are just around the corner on Pico Blvd.
Restaurants: No onsite restaurant. Room service available from Spark restaurant around the corner. Factor’s Famous Deli is across Pico Blvd.
Other Marriotts: None
Other Hotels: Crowne Plaza, Avalon Hotel
Tags: Marriott, Residence Inn, Travel ,Hotel
I don’t travel with the family too often but this week is one of those trips. We’re out in Los Angeles for a wedding that took place yesterday.
Since my wife and I have a two year old daughter accomodations can be tricky. A child at that age needs lots of snacks and lots of naps. As a result I decided to reserve at a Residence Inn.
The Residence Inn Beverly Hills is the only Residence Inn brand hotel in the Los Angeles area, although there are a number of Marriott properties around the town. The in room kitchenette is a must if you’re traveling with little ones.
The hotel staff provided us with a small ‘pack and play’ type crib so our daughter is set for sleeping accomodations. The studios here are smaller than the average Residence Inn property so nap time for daughter means nap time for mommy and daddy. Next time we’ll get a one bedroom.
The onsite included breakfast is a bonus for the family too. With so much to handle during the day it’s nice to know that we can get up and have a meal ready for us before we start the day.
More on the hotel and surrounding area in the next post.
I’m staying at the Courtyard Newark – University of Delaware this week.
The hotel is on the campus of the University of Delaware. They don’t have my favorite newspaper, The Wall Street Journal. The hotel is in the footprint of Cingular’s 3G network. The hotel serves complimentary coffee, which is set up just past the front desk.
Some people might consider those types of observations minutiae that really don’t make a big difference in the travel experience. Frequent business travelers would probably want to know all of those things though. Where do you go to find that info?
Sure you could come to this blog, but I could not possibly catalog a significant number of Marriott hotels on my travels alone. You would need the help of a community to get that kind of detailed feedback across a meaningful slice of the Marriott hotel brand.
Traditional travel sites like Trip Advisor and Yahoo! Travel allow users to rate hotels and write reviews. But even when you get down to the hotel level on those services the reviews are still categorized by the reviewer and not by the type of information.
I might only want to see comments about restaurants or about net connectivity. I might just be concerned about what’s in the surrounding area. If you’re a frequent traveler there may be other things that you care about.
I would want to read these sorts of observations from the people who actually stayed at the hotels, along with some commentary on the experience related to the particular category in question. I would also want to know a little bit about the person writing the observation.
Sounds like a wiki to me. A wiki or some sort of social network. A MySpace for a hotel chain? Every hotel chain should have one.
I know that hotel chains would worry about people just writing angry missives or posting general complaints. That sort of stuff can happen anytime you have an openly editable website. So how about inviting editors from amongst frequent traveler programs? Then slowly open up the editing and membership capabilities to more people. Something like that could be a perk and a privilege for those who patronize frequently and want to give back knowledge to others.
Some might say that such a venture is a risk because someone might see something about a hotel they don’t like and book elsewhere. That is true. But its also true that the most demanding customers are going to be more satisfied if their expectations are set properly before arrival.
After all, why should someone have to search all over the internet to get information that they can probably find if they just use one of the sites mentioned above or even Google?
Something like this would be a bear for any person to set up. But the Marriott hotel chain, with their significant resources and database of locations could set up the shell of the site with a comprehensive list of hotels and the placeholders for the categories. Their many customers could do the rest.
An interesting idea if I say so myself.
I couldn’t find my usual accommodations near Kennett Square, PA so I find myself in a new Marriott. This week its the Courtyard Newark – University of Delaware.
This Courtyard is very nice. Looks and feels new. Free coffee in the very large lobby just past the registration desk.
When I booked I didn’t realize that this would literally be right no campus. I immediately had visions of the film Animal House as I pulled up. Noise is a nightmare for this business traveler. Thankfully things appear to be quiet.
Getting here was a real pain from Kennett Square. No real direct routes from that way. Somehow I missed one turn and I was in farm country. I’ll surely be studying the online map before setting off back to my client tomorrow morning.
