So I’m staying down in Orlando at the world’s largest Marriott hotel/resort/convention center/megaplex. It’s conveniently located near all the theme parks smack in the middle of tourist hell. The only reason I know it’s the world’s largest Marriott is because it’s reinforced about 8,000 times before you get to your room:
“Here at the world’s largest Marriott we have seven restaurants and …”
“This Marriott – the world’s largest, by the way – is filled with every amenity that …”
“This Marriott is our flagship hotel. And, incidentally, is the biggest in the world.”
Two days into my stay, I was telling people I didn’t even know about the enormity of this place. I don’t know if the Marriott Orlando World Center slipped me a roofie or something, but suddenly I was dispensing their Kool-Aid. I turned to some woman on the elevator and said, “Did y’all know this is the world’s largest Marriott? It’s true. And not only is it the busiest, it also generates more revenue than any other Marriott. Mmmmhmm.” (I gleaned that last bit of information from an overzealous concierge.)
We are nearly seven months in to 2009, and I’ve already stayed at Marriott a whopping 55 nights this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bill Marriott called me personally to thank me for making their stocks go up. Once, when I was staying in Milan, Missouri I was forced to stay in a Holiday Inn or Howard Johnson. There wasn’t a Marriott for 50 miles. I honestly felt like I was cheating on the company or something.
As a savvy 30-something consumer, I’ve quickly found brand loyalty is the way to go. I’ve (knock wood!) never had a bad experience at a Marriott. They often bump me up to suites without me batting my eyelashes. And I’ve stockpiled so many Marriott Reward Points; I could stay for two weeks in Hawaii and not spend a dime.
Thanks for always being so good to me, Marriott. You make being a road warrior relatively pain-free. And now that I’ve stayed at your most grandiose hotel — I can honestly say it’s like the Mother Ship has called me home.