Marriott.com is a Great Way To Begin Your Travel Plans
Written: Apr 12 '10
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With many friends who travel on business and get Marriott rewards, I sometimes find myself sharing accommodations at Marriotts. I also regularly attend a seminar that takes place at a Marriott Courtyard facility in Henderson, Nevada. Through helping to book these trips, I've been well acquainted with Marriott.com. This website is the hub for all Marriott hotels. I should say up front that I enjoy the Marriott chain tremendously and have never had a bad stay at any of their facilities.
Mariott.com is a great resource to start planning a trip. From the "Find and Reserve" section on the front page of the site, you can enter in the name of your destination and the dates you intend to be there. You'll immediately get a listing of all the Marriott associated facilities in the surrounding area. This section also allows you to whittle down your selection by choosing only hotels with particular amenities such as tennis courts, pools, exercise rooms, conference facilities, etc. You can also limit your stay to one of the several Marriott "brands" such as Courtyard, Residence Inn, etc. When I travel on my own, I tend toward the Courtyard which is less expensive. When I travel with friends who take me along, we stay at the best facility available in the area we are going. The "Find and Reserve" also asks about whether we belong to Marriott rewards, AAA, and a number of other organizations that might provide us with a discount.
A quick click through from this page will provide a listing of all hotels and rooms available during your stay and their costs. A click on the hotel listing will take you directly to that facility's page so you can check out more details there. If you know what you want to do, you can just click through and book your space from Marriott.com. I've been able to have a confirmed reservation using Marriott.com less than 5 minutes after navigating to the page.
The front page also offers a way to get package deals. Here you will find specials that include car and/or travel deals that combine with your stay.
The destinations section of the front page will take you to information on all the Marriott facilities at a particular location. It will also help you find local attractions including amusement parks, theaters, golf courses, shopping and more. The information about the nightlife can be especially helpful to those who are travelling on business and need to entertain clients, or find something to do in the evening.
The Events and Meetings section of the Marriott.com website can be used to find what facility a particular event is happening at. It can also be used to help get you in touch with the facility where you might want to schedule such an event.
Marriott Rewards is the Marriott system of handling regular guests at their facilities. It provides them with upgraded rooms, free nights at their facilities, discounts or free car rentals and other kinds of rewards. Points can be earned for this program by staying at a Marriott facility and for certain credit card and car rental and other activities. I do not go to a Marriott often enough to warrant this program, but for business travelers, it's a huge boon. I have friends who are able to afford family vacations because they travel enough on business that their hotel stays are covered when they go on vacation.
While the website is easy to navigate, one of the other things I like about Marriott's customer service is the ease in getting to them. At every stage of the game, if I have questions, someone is there to help out. The toll free customer service number is 888-236-2427. You can also use Marriott.com to find the web site of the hotel where you will be staying, and you can call them directly. I have found that for making and/or confirming reservations, I can deal with the general number. If I have special requests such as a refrigerator in my room or no newspaper, that calling the hotel itself works best. I do find that if I am reserving as part of a reserved block of rooms, using the phone in customer service works better than the web page. That seems to be the only time one is significantly better than the other.
The Marriott company concerns itself with quality and customer service. I have never had a bad stay at any Marriott facility. Marriott.com provides an easy way to make reservations. Their customer service is excellent. Their main website and individual facility websites along with their phone-accessible customer service makes them a great option for planning vacation and business trips.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? hotel reservations
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About the Author
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