Marriott Announces Winner of Special 80th Anniversary Travel Agent Promotional Challenge
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Marriott Announces Winner of Special 80th Anniversary Travel Agent Promotional Challenge
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Category: Worldwide
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2008-01-08
9,000 Travel Agents from 18 Countries Participated
Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) announced today the winner of a special global promotion offering travel agents the chance to play and win by helping celebrate its 80th Anniversary year in the travel business.
The contest required Marriott’s qualifying travel agent partners around the world to submit their favorite travel agent Spirit to Serve”® story in celebration of Marriott’s 80th Anniversary, and was won by Becki McLean of the Alberta Automobile Association in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Marriott’s “Spirit to Serve”® is one of the guiding principles for its associates and is demonstrated by a Marriott associate’s willingness to go above and beyond in order to exceed guest expectations.
Over 9,000 travel agents from 18 countries participated in the contest which required agents to answer eight questions correctly about Marriott’s history and culture. 80 winners were selected at random and asked to submit their favorite Marriott Spirit to Serve”® story. Ms. McLean’s story was chosen by an impartial industry expert as the winning story and features exemplary service from Marriott associates from the Renaissance Beijing Hotel in Beijing, China, and the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel Frederick in Frederick, MD. “I have always been inspired by Marriott’s spirit to serve philosophy,” said Ms. McLean. “This contest offered me the opportunity to express how impressed I am by Marriott’s quality of product and service, and more importantly, their culture,” she continued.
Ms. McLean will receive the Grand Prize of a five night stay, including airfare for two, to the St. Kitts Marriott Resort & Royal Beach Casino in the British West Indies. She is a 2006 graduate of Marriott’s famed Hotel Excellence! program certifying her as a Marriott Hotel Sales Specialist, the industry’s first and most comprehensive travel agent hotel sales training program.
“We congratulate Ms. McLean on her winning story and are grateful for her continued patronage of our Marriott brands,” said Julius Robinson, vice president of intermediaries sales for Marriott International. “The agent community plays an integral role in the success of our business; they are our valued partners and we look forward to more opportunities to reward them for their continued loyalty to the Marriott brand,” he continued. “Ms. McLean’s story exemplifies Marriott’s Spirit to Serve® philosophy and we are thankful for the many similar stories we received from our travel agents around the world.”
In 2007 Marriott celebrated the 80th Anniversary of its founding in 1927, when J.W. and Alice S. Marriott opened their first nine-seat root beer stand in Washington, D.C. Today Marriott offers more than 3,000 properties in 68 countries and territories around the world. Marriott International’s culture is founded on its core value of its “Spirit to Serve”® its associates, guests, and communities in which it operates around the globe.
Marriott International’s continued commitment to the travel agent community is demonstrated through a number of longstanding programs and services to ensure every travel agency’s continued success. These well known programs include:
~ Travel Agent Website on Marriott.com designed specifically for travel agents and offers services including commissionable bookings and future rate searches, Hotel Excellence!, GDS information, Fam-Tastic rates and Marriott International brand profiles.
~ Single Image Inventory ensuring that travel agents have the most accurate Marriott rates and availability information possible by providing a best rate guarantee through all booking channels.
~ Hotel Excellence! training program – Marriott’s self paced training program designed to maximize travel agents’ success in hotel bookings; the first and most comprehensive of its kind in the industry. The program is now offered online in eight languages other than English and has certified over 125,000 travel agents worldwide.
~ Marriott’s Fam-Tastic Program offering Hotel Excellence! graduates exclusive familiarization rates ranging from $49-109 USD at over 2,600 hotels (check Jen’s ’08 numbers) worldwide.
~ Marriott’s Double Commission Guarantee -- guarantees commission payments will be sent within 15 business days of guest’s departure or Marriott will double the commission. The only double commission guarantee in the industry.
~ Marriott’s Preferred Travel Agency Program offers preferred commission status and special benefits for participating travel agencies.
~ Marriott’s Intermediary Partner Care boasts an award-winning team dedicated to addressing the needs of intermediary partners from around the world.
To learn more about Marriott’s Travel Agent programs and services please visit our website at www.marriott.com/travelagents.
It’s the Marriott Way…
The St. Kitts Marriott Resort and The Royal Beach Casino is located in the Frigate Bay area of the island, just a 10 minute drive from the airport and capital city Basseterre. The resort offers 513 guest rooms and luxurious suites. A pristine beach, championship golf course and the largest Vegas-style casino in the Caribbean help provide an unparalleled vacation experience. The resort also features a revitalizing spa, meeting facilities, the Pirates of St. Kitts Kids Club program, eight restaurants and two lounges that make it the ideal destination for families, couples and corporate travelers.
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