Meet Marriott Golf Links. This new golfer loyalty program just unveiled by Marriott lets Marriott Rewards members earn and redeem points for ... golf! Members can rack up 10 Marriott Rewards points for every dollar spent on rounds of golf and golf retail merchandise purchases.

In the spirit of earn and burn, as soon as you've tallied your points you can redeem them for, what else? More rounds of golf, plus hotel accommodations, spa experiences, golf instruction, and more. ]]> travelingmcmahans 2008-09-05T10:00:22-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/9/3/171750/0906 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/manitassign.jpg" class="imgborder"> <p>Shut. Up. <b>Las Manitas</b> -- the Austin institution that served up Mexican food with a cult-like following among Southern foodies -- has been (unexpectedly to most, it seems) shuttered. <p>And why? To make way for -- drumroll please -- a <b><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Marriott%20hotels">Marriott </a></b>complex. <p>In her Texas Monthly dining <a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/eatmywords/?p=170">blog</a>, Patricia Sharpe reports: <blockquote><p>The shaky detente between the purchaser of the property (White Lodging Services Corp., parent company of Marriott hotels) and Las Manitas's proprietors, Cynthia and Lidia Perez, came unglued at the end of last week for reasons that are-I'm just going to say they're fuzzy, in order to avoid stepping in a bear trap.</p></blockquote> <p>Fortunately, the plan is for Las Manitas to eventually move down Jenna 2008-09-03T17:19:48-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/9/2/133336/3656

For all those that hate on Twitter with any frequency, you have to agree with us when we say the Marriott Twitter deserves some serious props for keeping us up to date on the happenings around Hurricane Gustav. They linked to a list of closed hotels, too, and assured already-booked guests of the status of their reservations and explained how cancellation fees would be handled. ]]> Jenna 2008-09-02T13:38:18-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/8/28/134632/752 <![CDATA[<p><p><img align="right" src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/marriottrewards2.png" class="imgborder">Oopsie. Much like Bloomberg News went too early releasing <a href="http://gawker.com/5042795/steve-jobss-obituary-as-run-by-bloomberg">Steve Job's obituary</a>, Marriott's Web site went live too early with Platinum enhancements.<p>Marriot rewards members were abuzz on <a href="http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=859481">flyertalk</a> earlier this week about an announcement on Marriott's Web site that promised some nice enhancements for Platinum members beginning Jan 15, 2009:<p>&#183; No blackout dates for points redemption for standard rooms<br>&#183; Increase of Platinum member elite bonus from 30% to 50%<br>&#183; 4th night free on a three-night hotel redemption using points</p> <p>These are some pretty exciting developments, and made some Platinum members who don't think there's enough difference in Gold and Platinum levels quite happy. </p> <p>However, less than two hours after the initial post went up travelingmcmahans 2008-08-28T14:59:43-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/8/22/163657/498

We simply couldn't bear to send you off into your weekend without an image of Bill Marriott looking happy. We just couldn't. Who can look at this photo and not just feel warm and fuzzy all over? Look how cute he is!

And why is Billy M. looking oh-so-thrilled? Why, he just got to check out the new Courtyard by Marriott post-extreme-makeover. ]]> Jenna 2008-08-22T16:38:14-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/