Articles

Tagged: marriott

How to Complain to Marriott or its Brands: Official Phone Numbers and More

Need to send some choice words to Marriott about its policies or about a recent experience with one of the hospitality giant's hotels or resorts?Below, we've gathered customer service…

Arthur Frommer: Marriott's Low-Cost Moxy Chain May Bring About Lasting Industry Change

In a recent blog, I discussed the opening of a large (612 rooms) new hotel in the heart of Midtown Manhattan charging as little as $139 to $169 (and only occasionally higher) per night…

What Does Marriott's Court Settlement Over Resort Fees Mean for Travelers?

As we've reported, the hotel giant Marriott was sued by the attorneys general of both Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania over deceptive resort fee practices. On November 19 a settlement…

Marriott Made Hundreds of Millions from Deceptive Fees, Lawsuit Says

Just how lucrative are resort fees for hotels? Newly unsealed court documents from a lawsuit brought by the District of Columbia's attorney general against Marriott International shed…

Ending Daily Hotel Room Cleaning Will "Cost Women of Color Billions," Group Warns

Largely overlooked in the nonstop circus of summer news headlines, a crucial workers' organization warned in June that the hotel industry's trend of scaling back daily housekeeping…

PHOTOS: Inside a Royal Palace Turned Luxury Hotel in Historic Budapest

A onetime royal palace situated near the Danube River in Budapest has been turned into a swanky hotel. The 130-room Matild Palace, the latest outpost in Marriott International's Luxury…

Marriott Offers 20% Off a Future Stay if You Buy a Gift Card Now

With their cash flow negative, hotels are getting creative about ways to put some funds in the coffers until this storm has passed. We told you about "hotel bonds," which some…

Arthur: For Gay Americans, Some International Travel Is Exceedingly Dangerous

Like many standard Americans, my business relations include dealings with gay men, and I know a pair that recently had a same-sex wedding. They have asked me to recommend a…

New Zealand Mud Fest, Costly Hotel Cancellations, and Nevada's Clown Motel for Sale: Today's Travel Briefing

JULY 31, 2017 — Good morning, everybody! Here's the latest from the world's hotels, motels, and mud pits. IT'S BECOMING MORE DIFFICULT TO CANCEL HILTON AND MARRIOTT RESERVATIONS (Los…

Another Big Hotel Chain Makes Cancelling Costly

In June, Marriott changed its rules about cancelling hotel reservations. Before then, customers usually could cancel a room all the way until the day of check-in, sometimes the day…

New Ideas from Marriott: Communal Rooms and Automatic Booze Dispensers

Last week Marriott International gave the public a preview of some of the ideas the hotel megachain is considering for rollout in the coming months.The sneak peek was given to…

Seat-Back Entertainment Fading Out, a $700 Ski Lift Ticket, and More: Today's Travel Briefing

Good morning, everybody! Here's the latest from the world's hotels, airplanes, and ski lifts.* AMERICAN AIRLINES BEGINS PHASING OUT SEAT-BACK ENTERTAINMENT (The Economist)Given that…

Zippier Wi-Fi Coming to Your Next Hotel

Though you might not see much difference in the bedroom decor from a Marriott Hotel in one city to another one city over, each is likely to have a different owner. That's because the…

Marriott Finalizes Purchase of Starwood, Creating World's Biggest Hotel Chain

On Friday, Marriott International's $13 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide was finalized, having been delayed for months pending approval from U.S.,…

The World's Largest Hotel Chain, a Lawsuit Over Airplane-Seat "Spillover," and More: Today's Travel Briefing

Good morning! Here's the latest from the world's airplanes, hotels, and tourism destinations.* MARRIOTT FINALIZES PURCHASE OF STARWOOD, CREATING WORLD'S BIGGEST HOTEL CHAIN (Associated…

New UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Hotels for Millennials, and More: Today's Travel Briefing

Here's what's happening today in the world of travel.* 21 NEW UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES ANNOUNCED (CNN). The UNESCO World Heritage Committee added 21 sites to its World Heritage List…

Marriott Brings Hotel Brand Aimed at Millennials to USA

Hotel chains have begun courting Millennials—travelers in their 20s and 30s who have been spending more and more money on trips. Two of the generation's defining characteristics are…

Marriott Gives Up Trying to Block Your Wi-Fi—Other Hotels Better Not Try, Either

Marriott tried very hard to get the government to allow it to block your Wi-Fi signal. The hotel brand attempted to justify the act as a "security" measure, but in practice, doing so…

Is Last Minute, Spontaneous Travel Now a Thing of the Past? Yes....And No

It’s been a good several years since the airlines offered regular last-minute deals. According to a study of 180 million ticket sales by the Airline Reporting Corporation (the…

Hilton and Marriott Announce Strict New Fees for Last–Minute Cancellations

Just as Cinderella had to high tail it home before the stroke of midnight, from January 1st on, travelers heading to a Hilton or a Marriott property will have to remember to…

Marriott Urges Guests to Tip Housekeepers to Overcome the Shortfall of Inadequate Wages—Say What?

Marriott is placing pre-printed envelopes in 160,000 rooms to encourage guests to express "gratitude" to its workers in the form of cash. The initiative, called The Envelope Please,…

Offended by Political TV in Your Hotel Lobby? Your Hotel Manager Chose The Channel

Hotel companies spend millions of dollars creating warm-and-fuzzy feelings about their brands and crafting the sensation that a stay there will make customers feel welcome and…

New Orleans: Five Years Post-Katrina, the Good Times Still Roll

Five years ago this week, New Orleans was just starting to wring itself out after Hurricane Katrina flooded the city and killed some 1,500 souls. World media were covering the rescue…

Travel Troubleshooter: Help, My Honeymoon Flight's Been Canceled!

Doug Miller's honeymoon flight to Costa Rica is canceled by US Airways, and he's left with only one option: a full refund. The airline later agrees to reschedule him on a flight the…

When Travel Companies Sue Their Customers

When a young woman named Carissa knocked at my door on a recent Saturday evening and introduced herself as a process server, I knew things were about to get interesting. And when I…