Posts Tagged ‘lobby’

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NFL Network’s Rich Eisen Pays Courtyard a Visit

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

At Courtyard, we’re always looking to learn about our guests – their wants and needs on the road, their interests and hobbies, etc. This kind of information allows us to provide them with the best experience possible when they stay with us, and still connect with them even when they’re not traveling.

One thing we’ve learned over the years is that many of our Courtyard guests are avid sports enthusiasts. Among these enthusiasts, the most popular sport seems to be American football. That got us thinking – how could we link Courtyard with football?

We know that many of our guests watch the NFL Network so, a few years ago, we entered into a partnership with the network. Since then, we have become the sponsor of Greatness on the Road, a segment that airs during the show NFL Total Access, which has proven to be a great way to reach out to our guests.

We have also formed a great relationship with the host of NFL Total Access and “face” of the network, Rich Eisen. Rich is known for bringing his humor and wit to his broadcasts, so we knew anything he did for us would bring laughs as well. We decided to have him come out to one of our Courtyard hotels with the new Refreshing Business lobby and film a series of short videos called “Lobby Live” that show him interacting with guests and experiencing the new lobby for himself.

All of the videos are posted here on gocourtyard.com and you can see him entertaining the crowd at The Bistro, interacting with guests with the mini cheerleading squad he brought along and even giving play-by-play commentary of a guest checking in! We hope you enjoy the videos and leave us a comment with your feedback!

Thanks for helping us keep Courtyard on the go!

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Welcome to the New GoCourtyard.com!

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

It’s been a while since the last blog was posted on this site, and surely you’ve noticed that it looks quite different now. That’s because we’ve been hard at work to consolidate our tourcourtyard.com and gocourtyard.com sites into this completely redesigned website that is now your source for anything and everything Courtyard.

This new site features photos and videos of the many different elements and amenities found in Courtyard hotels around the world, just as tourcourtyard.com did. And now that is combined with the interactive and social media components of gocourtyard.com like this blog and the videos of guest reactions to the new lobby features now found here, under the “Buzz” tab. A new feature on this part of the site is a Twitter feed that automatically pulls in content from our CourtyardHotels Twitter page that ranges from brand news to deals and promotions to local area information and fun facts.

The format of this blog is changing, too. From now on, it will no longer be “Brian’s Blog” but a source for all Courtyard news. You’ll still be hearing from Brian King, the brand VP, but you’ll also see posts by guest bloggers from within the brand, throughout Marriott and hopefully some of our guests, as well as frequent news updates.

We’re really excited about the new site and the fact that this new format allows us to communicate so much more openly with our guests and that they can respond. This is a very important time for the brand as it is experiencing rapid growth and many changes with the implementation of the new lobby and guest room designs. And now, we can update you frequently on what’s new, a well as respond to any questions or feedback you, our loyal guests, may have.

We hope you like the new site as much as we do and will come back often to keep up to date with the latest from Courtyard. And be sure to leave us comments and let us know what you like and don’t like. Thanks for your support and all of us on the Courtyard team look forward to continuing to share updates and interact with you.

Thanks for helping us keep Courtyard on the go.

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Brian’s Blog: Courtyard Lobby Unfolds in New TV Spot

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

I’m excited to share with you the latest TV spot featuring the new Courtyard lobby. It premiered this past Monday on cable channels like ESPN, Comedy Central, The History Channel, CNN, FX, USA, Investigative Discovery, Spike and Bravo.

It shows guests using the lobby space as many of the new elements unfold before them. I really love the unfolding effect – it makes it interesting to watch and reminds me of origami!

I’ve posted it below, so please take a look and leave a comment to let us know what you think!

Thanks for helping me keep Courtyard on the go.

Brian

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Brian’s Blog: Blogging with USA Today

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Almost exactly a year ago, a reporter for USA Today, Barbara DeLollis, wrote a fantastic story about the new Courtyard lobby.Courtyard by Marriott Baltimore BWI Airport

A lot has changed for Courtyard and for Barbara over the past year, too. She just joined the social media revolution . Today Barbara launched her Hotel Check-In blog for USA right from the lobby of our Courtyard at BWI Airport in Baltimore, Maryland, where she wrote her first posts.

She set up shop, plugging in her laptop at The Bistro counter and using the free Wi-Fi we offer. Barbara made me laugh when she described the breakfast buzz in the lobby as “Starbucks on steroids.”.

I chatted with her for about 90 minutes and answered questions about the brand, the new lobby roll-out and even our Starbucks coffee offerings. But the heart of our conversation revolved around how both customers and our associates have responded to the new design. The lobby of the past was “transaction focused” space. Today the lobby stands on its own as a unique and refreshing “space to experience.” The lobby fully supports our guests’ needs for both business and personal travel. It was great to sit down with Barbara today and I was so thrilled to be able to take part in the launch of her new blog all about the hotel industry.

Thanks to you, the readers, and to Barbara for helping me keep Courtyard on the go.

Brian

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Brian’s Blog: ‘It’s A New Stay’ at Courtyard Hotels

Monday, May 5th, 2008

By now, I’m sure many of you have seen the new Courtyard commercial on TV. It seems to be everywhere! Our brilliant marketing team put a lot of hard work into it and I’m really proud and happy about how it turned out.

This new ad campaign signals a different approach for Courtyard because we’re using a new tagline – “It’s a new stay.” This is the first time that slogan hasn’t referred to “business travelers.” In the past, the phrase that was most commonly associated with Courtyard was “The first hotel designed for the business traveler, by the business traveler.”

Our new tagline couldn’t be more accurate. It really is a new stay for our guests at Courtyard. They get to experience the newly redefined lobby, a new guest room design, more appealing outdoor spaces and enhanced technological capabilities like free WiFi in our public spaces.

And all of this is shown in the new TV commercial. It begins with a man working on his lap top his room which features the new design package. As the background changes behind him, it shows him continuing to work in the new lobby and even outdoors. The commercial really does a great job of showing the new design elements of the Courtyard brand, while also demonstrating how guests can get out their room and still work wirelessly.

It shows that we’ve taken notice and learned from our research how guests have changed and what they want from a hotel. They want flexibility, choice, and a nice atmosphere to work and play. At Courtyard, they get all of that. They have the flexibility to choose where they want to work now that we feature free WiFi in our public spaces. They can sit in one of our media booths inside while grabbing a quick bite, or they can even take their work outside with them while enjoying a drink.

If you haven’t seen the commercial yet, I’ve posted it below, so please take a look.

Thanks for helping me keep Courtyard on the go.

Brian

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